The median income of all families in 1965 was about $6,900. This was about $300, or 5 percent, higher than in 1964. However, since consumer prices rose about 2 percent between 1964 and 1965,¹ the gain in real purchasing power was approximately 3 percent. These are some of the findings obtained from the inquiry on consumer income in the March 1966 Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census.

Over the past 18 years, median family income has increased at an average annual rate of 5 percent in current dollars and 3 percent in constant dollars. This increase in family income parallels the expansion of general economic activity in the United States for the same period during which time the Gross National Product increased at an average annual rate of about 6 percent in current dollars and 4 percent in constant dollars.

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¹ See Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 89, No. 3, March 1966, table D-1, page 358.