Blog – Data-driven insights on the U.S. economy and society.

Monthly Household Income Estimates at the White House

August 25, 2025

On August 7, 2025, Stephen Moore, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, presented monthly household income figures at the White House alongside President Trump (video; charts). Moore described the data as “never seen before,” claimed it came from unpublished Census Bureau sources, and reported that from January through June 2025, real median household income for “the average American family” (sic) had risen by $1,174.

Introducing Motio’s Not-Seasonally Adjusted Household Income Estimates

April 16, 2025

In December 2023, we began publishing a monthly index of U.S. real, seasonally adjusted median household income derived from CPS microdata. Now we’re introducing new estimates based on previously unpublished Motio household income estimates.

Assessing Motio’s Prediction of the 2023 Census Household Income Estimates

October 12, 2024

The release of the 2023 Census annual estimates reaffirmed the historically strong association between the Motio and Census household income series, further validating the reliability of Motio’s monthly estimates. This demonstrates that the Motio median household income series stands on its own, offering a timely key metric of U.S. national economic well-being every month.

Introducing the 25th and 75th Percentiles Household Income Estimates

July 18, 2024

We’re excited to introduce two new monthly series of U.S. household income estimates that provide a unique monthly gauge of U.S. household income distribution. In December 2023, we launched a monthly series of median household income data. Today, we are launching the 25th and 75th percentiles household income series.

Predicting the 2023 Census Median Household Income Estimate

May 20, 2024

The validity of the Motio Research median household income series derives from its strong correlation with the U.S. Census median household income series. Additionally, being more timely than the Census series, the Motio estimates can be used to predict the Census annual estimates months ahead.

Motio U.S. Real Median Household Income Index

Introducing the Motio U.S. Household Income Series

April 23, 2024

In December 2023, we officially launched a monthly series of household income data for the United States. The new series is based on microdata from the Current Population Survey and follows the core methodology of a discontinued series that garnered widespread national media attention in the 2010s.