Median household income in November 2018 climbed to $63,554, reports Sentier Research. This is the highest median recorded by Sentier since the January 2000 start of its monthly household income series.

The November 2018 median was 3.2% higher than the November 2017 median, after adjusting for inflation. Sentier's estimates are derived from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and track the economic wellbeing of households on a monthly basis.

“We are at a point now where real median household income is 4.3% higher than January 2000, the beginning of this statistical series,” reports Sentier's Gordon Green. “Not an impressive performance by any means over a period spanning almost two decades, but the trend line has been positive for about seven years.” More impressive is the 15.4% rise in median household income since the post-Great Recession low reached in June 2011 – two years after the official end of the Great Recession.

Sentier's Household Income Index in November 2018 was 104.3 (January 2000 = 100.0). To stay on top of these trends, look for the next monthly update from Sentier.