<P> Household income in the United States varies substantially with the age of the person who heads the household . Overall, the median household income increased with the age of householder until retirement age when household income started to decline . The highest median household income was found among households headed by working baby - boomers . </P> <P> Households headed by persons between the ages of 45 and 54 had a median household income of $61,111 and a mean household income of $77,634 . The median income per member of household for this particular group was $27,924 . The highest median income per member of household was among those between the ages of 54 and 64 with $30,544 (The reason this figure is lower than the next group is because pensions and Social Security add to income while a portion of older individuals also have work - related income .). </P> <P> The group with the second highest median household income, were households headed by persons between the ages 35 and 44 with a median income of $56,785, followed by those in the age group between 55 and 64 with $50,400 . Not surprisingly the lowest income group was composed of those households headed by individuals younger than 24, followed by those headed by persons over the age of 75 . Overall, households headed by persons above the age of seventy - five had a median household income of $20,467 with the median household income per member of household being $18,645 . These figures support the general assumption that median household income as well as the median income per member of household peaked among those households headed by middle aged persons, increasing with the age of the householder and the size of the household until the householder reaches the age of 64 . With retirement income replacing salaries and the size of the household declining, the median household income decreases as well . </P> <P> While median household income has a tendency to increase up to four persons per household, it declines for households beyond four persons . For example, in the state of Alabama in 2004, two - person households had a median income of $39,755, with $48,957 for three - person households, $54,338 for four - person households, $50,905 for five - person households, $45,435 for six - person households, with seven - or - more - person households having the second lowest median income of only $42,471 . </P>

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