<P> Between 1979 and 2011, gross median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose from $59,400 to $75,200, or 26.5% . This compares with the Census' growth of 10% . However, once adjusted for household size and looking at taxes from an after - tax perspective, real median household income grew 46%, representing significant growth . </P> <P> While median gross household income showed much stronger growth than depicted by the Census, inequality was shown to still have increased . The top 10% saw gross household income grow by 78%, versus 26.5% for the median . Interestingly, the bottom 10%, using the same measure, saw higher growth than the median (40%). </P> <P> Another common measurement of personal income is the mean household income . Unlike the median household income, which divides all households in two halves, the mean income is the average income earned by American households . In the case of mean income, the income of all households is divided by the number of all households . The mean income is usually more affected by the relatively unequal distribution of income which tilts towards the top . As a result, the mean tends to be higher than the median income, with the top earning households boosting it . Overall, the mean household income in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, was $72,641 . </P> <P> The US Census Bureau also provides a breakdown by self - identified ethnic groups as follows (as of March 2014): </P>

What is the average yearly income for an american