Personal income for American worker – Median personal income for those working in America is much less than you would think

I’m struck by how many Americans think that wages in the United States are off the charts.  The typical American worker is pulling in about $26,507.  At least this is the median personal income in the United States.  This works out to be about $500 per week which doesn’t equate too much especially given the incredibly high cost of living.  The recession has taken a big chunk out of the paychecks of most Americans but this trend has gone on even prior to the recession.  Personal income has been falling for a very long duration in spite of the 2000s where most of the wealth came from leveraging large amounts of debt.  With the middle class being squeezed out personal income has taken a solid jab over the last decade.  It is much harder to be part of the middle class when personal income is being eaten up by inflation and lost wages.  Below is a breakdown of personal income in the United States:

Source:  Census data, 25 years and older, Wikipedia

Does this seem high or low to you?  Trying to get by on $500 a week isn’t exactly a walk in the park especially given the cost of items like food and healthcare increasing much faster than inflation.

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