Indicator 8.3: Income

Figure 8.3. Median income (in constant 2003 dollars) of households, by race/ethnicity: 1989 to 2003

1 The 2003 Current Population Survey (CPS) offered respondents the option of choosing more than one race. The 2002 and 2001 CPS recorded only one race for each respondent. The 3-year averages are based on combining the 2003 CPS race categories with the relevant single race categories of White, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Asian and Pacific Islander recorded in the 2002 and 2001 CPS. NOTE: Race categories include those of Hispanic origin, except as noted (White, non-Hispanic). Median income is the 3-year moving average median and calculated as the sum of 3 inflation-adjusted single-year medians divided by 3. SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March Current Population Survey (CPS), 1989 to 2000, and Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 2000 to 2004.

In 2003, the median income of American Indian/Alaska Native households was lower than that of households in the total population.

Race categories include those of Hispanic origin, except for White. Between 1989 and 2003, the median income among American Indian/Alaska Native households increased. Income increased from 1989 to 1992, and from 1997 to 1999. Over the 15-year period, the median income of American Indians/Alaska Natives increased 32 percent, from $26,300 in 1989 to $34,700 in 2003. American Indian/Alaska Native households had a lower median income in 1989 and 2003 than the total population; however, American Indian/Alaska Native households had a larger increase in income during the same period ($8,400) than the total population ($1,200).

In 2003, the median income of American Indian/ Alaska Native households ($34,700) was lower than the median income among White, non-Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander households ($48,000 and $54,800, respectively) and higher than that of Black households ($30,100).

View Table 8.3