The 2001 median household income in the United States was $42,228, representing a 2.2 percent decline in real income from its 2000 level of $43,162.¹ This decline in income coincides with the recession that started in March 2001.² The decline in median household income between 2000 and 2001 was widespread. With the exception of the Northeast, all regions experienced a decline in income. Each of the racial groups and non-Hispanic Whites showed declines in income; the income of the Hispanic population remained unchanged.³

__________
¹ All income values are in 2001 dollars. Changes in real income refer to comparisons after adjusting for inflation. The percentage changes in prices between earlier years and 2001 were computed by dividing the annual average Consumer Price Index for 2001 by the annual average for earlier years. The CPI-U values for 1947 to 2001 are available on the Internet at: www.census.gov/hhes/www/income01.html; click on “Annual Average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U-RS): 1947 to 2001.” Inflation between 2000 and 2001 was 2.8 percent.
² Recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private research organization.
³ Because Hispanics may be of any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap slightly with data for the Black population and the Asian and Pacific Islander population. About 10.9 percent of White households, 3.0 percent of Black households, 2.0 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander households, and 13.1 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native households are maintained by a person of Hispanic origin.