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Average Family Income Up 7 Percent in 1966 (Advance data from March 1967 sample survey)

Report Number P60-52

The median income of families in the United States was $7,400 in 1966, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce. This was about $480, or 7 percent, higher than the revised 1965 figure of about $7,000.1 The gain in real purchasing power between 1965 and 1966 was only about 4 percent, since prices also rose during this period.2

An estimated 7.0 million families, or 14 percent, of the 48.9 million families in the Nation, received money incomes under $3,000 in 1966. The number of families in this income range declined by approximately 800,000 from the previous year. Another 6.8 million, or 14 percent, received incomes between $3,000 and $5,000 last year; 8.7 million, or 18 percent, had incomes between $5,000 and $7,000; and 11.9 million, or 24 percent, had incomes between $7,000 and $10,000. The remaining 14.5 million families, or 30 percent, received incomes of $10,000 or more.

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1 A processing error was found in the treatment of income nonresponses in the March 1966 Current Population Survey. Consequently, the 1965 published data contained in P-60, Nos. 49, 50, and 51 reports have been revised. Tables 9 and 10 in this report show a comparison of selected median income figures before and after correction.
2 See Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 90, No. 2, February 1967, table D-1, page 117.

A Note on Language

Census statistics date back to 1790 and reflect the growth and change of the United States. Past census reports contain some terms that today’s readers may consider obsolete and inappropriate. As part of our goal to be open and transparent with the public, we are improving access to all Census Bureau original publications and statistics, which serve as a guide to the nation's history.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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