Missouri and the Nation Missouri Median Household Income in Comparison with Other States 2000 and Change from 1990 Missouri's median household income increased from $34,393 according to the 1990 Census to $37,934 reported in the 2000 Census (Tables 1 and 2). Relatively, Missouri household income remained the same in 1990 and 2000 - Missouri's median household income ranked 35th nationally in both 1989 and 1999. That rank reflects Missouri's relatively low household income in comparison with the national median of $41,994 in 1999. Missouri's 1999 median household income was 90.3 percent of the national median. In comparison, New Jersey's median household income in 1999, the nation's highest at $55,146, was 131.3 percent of the national median and West Virginia, which had the nation's lowest at $29,696, was 70.7 percent of the national median. Map 1 click map for larger version Missouri's 1999 Median Household Income in Comparison with Neighboring States Missouri's 1999 median household income ($37,934) was higher than its neighbors to the south (Map 1). In comparison with Missouri's rank of 35th on median household income, Tennessee ranked 40th in 1999, Kentucky ranked 45th, Oklahoma ranked 46th and Arkansas ranked 49th. In contrast, the 1999 median household incomes of Missouri's four neighboring states to the north were somewhat greater than Missouri. Of those four states, Illinois had the largest household income with $46,590 which ranked 13th, followed by Kansas which ranked 26th, Iowa which ranked 31st and Nebraska which ranked 32nd. Missouri's 1989-1999 Dollar Increase in Median Household Income in Comparison with Other States Table 3 shows the states ranked by dollar increase in median household income during the 1990s. The greatest dollar increase was Colorado in which household income increased by $7,881, followed by neighboring Utah with an increase of $7,278. Both benefited from major migration from California during the 1990s. Ranked in the middle (26th) was Missouri in which median household income increased by $3,541 from 1989 to 1999. Ironically, some of the states that had high median household income in 1999 experienced a decline in household income during the 1990s. Highest on that list is Connecticut which ranked 2nd in household income in 1999 ($53,935) but had a net decline (-$496) from 1989 to 1999. Similarly, Alaska - which ranked 2nd in 1989 at a median $54,023 - declined to a median household income of $51,571 in 1999 (4th rank). Missouri's Percent Change in Median Household Income from 1989 to 1999 in Comparison with Other States Missouri median household income increased by 10.3 percent during the 1990s, an increase which ranked 26th nationally and was the nation's median percent increase. As indicated in Table 4, states having the greatest percentage increases during the 1990s were generally smaller population states, many of which were in the Midwest, and several of which were low income. One of the reasons for the large percentage gains was that several of the states had a relatively low median household income in 1989. Therefore, even a modest dollar increase would produce a higher percentage increase. For example, South Dakota had the nation's greatest percentage increase in median household income during the 1990s but still only advanced from a rank of 47th in 1989 to a rank of 41st in 1999. Even more dramatic was the case of Arkansas. Arkansas median household income increased by 16.6 percent during the 1990s but even with that advance, Arkansas retained the 49th lowest median household income in 1989. A Note of Interpretation: Difference between household income and family income There is a significant difference between median household income and median family income. Households include all occupied housing units in the nation including family and non-family. The difference in terms of income is what comprises a family household. In order to meet the census definition of a family household two or more related persons must have been occupying the household. After subtracting family households from the total, the remainder is non-family households that often are either occupied by one person or, if there is more than one occupant, they are not related. Generally, family households are likely to have a higher income because many of them have two or more wage earners contributing to the family household income. Conversely, a majority of non-family households are either comprised of one person or the occupants are not related and do not share their income. Detailed Tables Median Household Income, 1999, for All U.S. States HTML PDF Median Household Income, 1989, for All U.S. States HTML PDF Change in Median Household Income, 1989-1999, for All U.S. States HTML PDF Percent Change in Median Household Income, 1989-1999, for All U.S. States HTML PDF