<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (March 2015) </Td> </Tr> <P> Household income is an economic measure that can be applied to one household, or aggregated across a large group such as a county, city, or the whole country . It is commonly used by the United States government and private institutions to describe a household's economic status or to track economic trends in the US . </P> <P> One key measure is the real median level, meaning half of households have income above that level and half below, adjusted for inflation . According to the Census, this measure was $59,039 in 2016, a record high . This was the largest two year percentage increase on record . </P> <P> The distribution of U.S. household income has become more unequal since around 1980, with the income share received by the top 1% trending upward from around 10% or less over the 1953--1981 period to over 20% by 2007 . After falling somewhat due to the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009, inequality rose again during the economic recovery, a typical pattern historically . </P>

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