Average family income, by income group, 1947–2010 (2011 dollars)

	Income fifth					Breakdown of top fifth
	Bottom	Second	Middle	Fourth	Top	80th–<95th percentile	Top 5 percent
Real money income
1947	$7,808	$18,584	$26,548	$36,075	$67,152	$53,097	$109,317
1979	17,318	37,442	56,466	77,740	133,340	111,995	197,373
1989	16,575	38,561	59,906	86,189	162,284	129,724	259,965
1995	16,508	38,035	59,550	87,129	175,047	133,327	300,208
2000	18,444	42,171	66,279	97,682	204,946	152,205	363,167
2007	17,430	41,550	66,651	99,667	202,335	155,298	343,448
2010	15,464	38,235	62,268	94,893	193,308	150,016	323,183
Average annual change
1947–1979	2.5%	2.2%	2.4%	2.4%	2.2%	2.4%	1.9%
1979–1989	-0.4	0.3	0.6	1.0	2.0	1.5	2.8
1989–1995	-0.1	-0.2	-0.1	0.2	1.3	0.5	2.4
1995–2000	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.3	3.2	2.7	3.9
2000–2007	-0.8	-0.2	0.1	0.3	-0.2	0.3	-0.8
1979–2007	0.0	0.4	0.6	0.9	1.5	1.2	2.0
2007–2010	-3.9	-2.7	-2.2	-1.6	-1.5	-1.1	-2.0

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Income Tables (Tables F-2, F-3, and F-5)

Documentation and methodology

Underlying data are from Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Income Tables, Table F-2, “Share of Aggregate Income Received by Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of All Families, All Races: 1947– 2010,” Table F-3, “Mean Income Received by Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of Families, All Races: 1947 to 2010,” and Table F-5, “Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder—Families by Median and Mean Income: 1947 to 2010.” The years 1947, 1979, 1989, 2000, and 2007 are highlighted throughout the chapter because they are employment cycle peaks and are similar in nature to business cycle peaks. 1995 represents a midway point between cycles to show the growth or stagnation of the period. 2010 is highlighted because it is the most recent year for which data are available. Data are inflated to 2011 dollars using the CPI-U-RS (Consumer Price Index Research Series Using Current Methods).