Income in 1966 of Families and Persons in the United States

Report Number: P60-53

The median income of all families in 1966 reached a new peak of $7,400. This was about $480, or 7 percent, higher than the revised 1965 figure of about $7,000.1 However, since consumer prices rose about 3 percent between 1965 and 1966, the gain in real purchasing power was approximately 4 percent.2 Median income of white families was $7,700 and nonwhite families, $4,600. These findings were obtained from the inquiry on consumer income in the March 1967 Current Population Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census.

The percentage of families receiving incomes under $3,000, in constant (1966) dollars, dropped from 16 percent in 1965 to 14 percent in 1966, while the percentage of families receiving $10,000 or more increased from 27 to 30 percent.

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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 Current Population Reports, Series P-60, Nos. 49, 50, and 51 have been revised. Tables 9 and 10 in P-60, No. 52, August 21, 1967, show a comparison of selected median income figures before and after correction. Tables L and M on pages 19 and 20 of this report include selected 1965 distribution data before and after correction.
2 See Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 90, No. 2, February 1967, table D-1, page 117.

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021