--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today, the US median income is still…" description: "\"“Today, the US median income is still below where it was at the beginning of this century.”\" — Edward Luce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg" --- # Today, the US median income is still below where it was at… ![“Today, the US median income is still below where it was at the beginning of this century.” quote by Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg) > ““Today, the US median income is still below where it was at the beginning of this century.”” [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Median US income has not kept pace with early‑century levels, indicating stagnant wages. **In simple terms:** US wages have stagnated. Key Takeaway Advocate for policies that raise median earnings. Themes economics income inequality policy Mood concerned analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - policy debates - career planning - budgeting Key Concepts wage stagnation economic growth Questions to Reflect On - What policies could boost median income? - How does stagnation affect your financial goals? A Different Perspective Structural factors may limit income growth despite individual effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Median](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/median/) ## Related quotes > [“The West’s median income, meanwhile, has barely shifted in the last half-century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/the-west-s-median-income-meanwhile-has-barely-shifted-in-the-last/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [There's no such thing as median income; there's a curve, and it really matters what side of the curve you're on. There's no such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/there-s-no-such-thing-as-median-income-there-s-a-curve-and-it-really/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [And wages - we'll see the end of this decline we're having. The median income in America is down 10% in just the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/and-wages-we-ll-see-the-end-of-this-decline-we-re-having-the-median/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [We were terribly excited, and I think we took it on our shoulders that we were creating the 21st century in 1971. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/we-were-terribly-excited-and-i-think-we-took-it-on-our-shoulders-that/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [In the 20th century, we had a century where at the beginning of the century, most of the world was agricultural and industry was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gerrold/in-the-20th-century-we-had-a-century-where-at-the-beginning-of-the/) [David Gerrold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gerrold/) > [I shall confess at the outset that it was only shortly after the beginning of this century that I entered active life - with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-cassin/i-shall-confess-at-the-outset-that-it-was-only-shortly-after-the/) [Rene Cassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-cassin/) > [If the present tax rates had been in effect from the beginning of our century, many who are millionaires today would live under more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-present-tax-rates-had-been-in-effect-from-the-beginning-of-our/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I was raised by a single mother. 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We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/the-basic-thing-that-made-trump-popular-is-that-he-blamed-others-for/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [“Normally, changes in the average income (total income divided by the total number of people) are not very different from changes in median income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normally-changes-in-the-average-income-total-income-divided-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The economy of the United States gross domestic product doubled from 1996 to 2015, doubled, more than, $8.8 trillion to $17.1 trillion. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/the-economy-of-the-united-states-gross-domestic-product-doubled-from/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [The median family of four ... paid $4,722 in federal taxes last year. That's enough to pay for a new curtain for the secretary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bock/the-median-family-of-four-paid-4-722-in-federal-taxes-last-year-that/) Alan Bock > [Develop a respect and reverence for the principle of variation: the idea that the message ain't in the mean, the mode or the median…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/develop-a-respect-and-reverence-for-the-principle-of-variation-the/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“Moderation: a median with no means, praised by those with no misfortunes, practiced by those with no merits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/moderation-a-median-with-no-means-praised-by-those-with-no/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [Since 1978 for the bottom half of the wealth distribution male median wages have actually gone down. And I think that's a crucial reason.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/since-1978-for-the-bottom-half-of-the-wealth-distribution-male-median/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) ## More by Edward Luce > [“Davos has become the emblem of a global elite that has lost its ability to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/davos-has-become-the-emblem-of-a-global-elite-that-has-lost-its/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“By any numerical measure, humanity is becoming rapidly less poor. But between half and two-thirds of people in the West have been treading water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/by-any-numerical-measure-humanity-is-becoming-rapidly-less-poor-but/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Cowen detects conformism even in the liveliest Silicon Valley companies. Most of its denizens wear some variation on the casual hipster uniform and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/cowen-detects-conformism-even-in-the-liveliest-silicon-valley/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“It would also require a conscious effort to look at the world from unfamiliar standpoints and admit that the West has no monopoly on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/it-would-also-require-a-conscious-effort-to-look-at-the-world-from/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Almost half of Americans would be unable to pay a $400 medical emergency bill without going into debt.67”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/almost-half-of-americans-would-be-unable-to-pay-a-400-medical/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“In the US, the more liberal a city’s politics, the higher the rate of inequality.45”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/in-the-us-the-more-liberal-a-city-s-politics-the-higher-the-rate-of/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“With chisels and pickaxes we made our tiny contributions to this orgy of historic vandalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/with-chisels-and-pickaxes-we-made-our-tiny-contributions-to-this-orgy/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“History tells us that inequality soars when societies develop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/history-tells-us-that-inequality-soars-when-societies-develop/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“the Toil Index – the number of working hours it takes a median worker to pay the median rent in one of America’s big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/the-toil-index-the-number-of-working-hours-it-takes-a-median-worker/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Today’s equivalent is probably ‘get an engineering degree’, but it will not necessarily be as lucrative. 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And I think that's a crucial reason.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/since-1978-for-the-bottom-half-of-the-wealth-distribution-male-median/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [“Moderation: a median with no means, praised by those with no misfortunes, practiced by those with no merits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/moderation-a-median-with-no-means-praised-by-those-with-no/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) > [Develop a respect and reverence for the principle of variation: the idea that the message ain't in the mean, the mode or the median…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/develop-a-respect-and-reverence-for-the-principle-of-variation-the/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The median family of four ... paid $4,722 in federal taxes last year. 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Stanton Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-stanton-evans/) > [If one sentence were to sum up the mechanism driving the Great Stagnation, it is this: Recent and current innovation is more geared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/if-one-sentence-were-to-sum-up-the-mechanism-driving-the-great/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [And wages - we'll see the end of this decline we're having. The median income in America is down 10% in just the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/and-wages-we-ll-see-the-end-of-this-decline-we-re-having-the-median/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Man is at his furthest remove from the animal as a child, his intellect most human. With his fifteenth year and puberty he comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-is-at-his-furthest-remove-from-the-animal-as-a-child-his/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The median is not the message,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-median-is-not-the-message/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [You can pay certain people more money and stuff but that's just going to be a transfer from one group to another. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/you-can-pay-certain-people-more-money-and-stuff-but-that-s-just-going/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [Doctors can be replaced by software – 80% of them can. I’d much rather have a good machine learning system diagnose my disease than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/doctors-can-be-replaced-by-software-80-of-them-can-i-d-much-rather/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [All the equity investors, in total, will surely bear a performance disadvantage per annum equal to the total croupiers' costs they have jointly elected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/all-the-equity-investors-in-total-will-surely-bear-a-performance/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“I’ve learned through a series of trials and errors that the median space is actually what's missing in our daily walk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/i-ve-learned-through-a-series-of-trials-and-errors-that-the-median/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) > [Real median household incomes in the U.S. were basically the same in 1989 as in 2014. But we are also seeing similar challenges in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/real-median-household-incomes-in-the-u-s-were-basically-the-same-in/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) [Browse all 29 Median quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/median/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Today, the US median income is still below where it was at the beginning of this century.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Luce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/today-the-us-median-income-is-still-below-where-it-was-at-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Median" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/today-the-us-median-income-is-still-below-where-it-was-at-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/edward-luce-10080_quote_today-the-us-median-income-is-still-belo_1321533.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Today, the US median income is still below where it was at the beginning of this century.” — Edward Luce", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Luce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Today, the US median income is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/today-the-us-median-income-is-still-below-where-it-was-at-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/today-the-us-median-income-is-still-below-where-it-was-at-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```