Cash Flow
Visualizing the Income of Americans by Age
It's no secret that income is positively correlated with age. As you get older, your income tends to increase.
But exactly how much does income increase with age? What's the median income for each age? How much do you have to earn to be in the top 10% of income-earners for your age? Or the top 1%?
Related: I track my monthly income for free using Personal Capital.
The answers to these questions can be found in the IPUMS Current Population Survey, which provides data for individuals in the U.S. 18 years or older who earned income in 2017.
Income is defined as pre-tax earnings from wages (including multiple jobs), business income, investment income, and any other form of earnings.
Using this data, let's take a look at how income varies by age for individuals in the United States.
Income Percentiles by Age
Select an age to view the income percentiles.
It's fascinating to see how the median income varies between different ages.
For example, the median annual income for 25-year-olds is $29,625. This number jumps up to $44,008 for 35-year-olds and to $46,242 for 45-year-olds.
It's also interesting to look at how much you need to earn to be in the top 1% of income-earners for each age. For 25-year-olds, you need to earn at least $150k to be in the top 1%. This number climbs to $275k for 35-year-olds and to $313k for 45-year-olds.
Median, 90th Percentile, and 99th Percentile Income by Age
The table below shows the median, the 90th percentile, and 99th percentile income for each age.
| Age | Median Income | 90th Percentile Income | 99th Percentile Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | $4,100 | $7,039 | $70,003 |
| 19 | $8,245 | $25,505 | $61,828 |
| 20 | $12,000 | $30,500 | $80,200 |
| 21 | $15,000 | $38,073 | $90,823 |
| 22 | $16,790 | $40,000 | $90,002 |
| 23 | $21,000 | $53,400 | $147,299 |
| 24 | $23,880 | $53,010 | $140,501 |
| 25 | $29,625 | $65,000 | $150,000 |
| 26 | $32,000 | $70,000 | $139,000 |
| 27 | $31,509 | $74,008 | $134,597 |
| 28 | $35,012 | $75,023 | $153,650 |
| 29 | $36,000 | $82,177 | $200,000 |
| 30 | $35,001 | $85,010 | $220,000 |
| 31 | $36,208 | $86,005 | $193,010 |
| 32 | $38,000 | $93,822 | $201,231 |
| 33 | $40,000 | $99,348 | $210,039 |
| 34 | $40,010 | $98,201 | $225,049 |
| 35 | $44,008 | $109,000 | $275,040 |
| 36 | $45,000 | $109,855 | $300,000 |
| 37 | $45,000 | $115,000 | $365,200 |
| 38 | $45,052 | $117,000 | $308,007 |
| 39 | $45,000 | $120,000 | $305,300 |
| 40 | $45,000 | $121,302 | $401,946 |
| 41 | $45,025 | $120,050 | $350,025 |
| 42 | $46,215 | $123,108 | $340,000 |
| 43 | $45,600 | $125,300 | $351,300 |
| 44 | $47,000 | $122,326 | $500,353 |
| 45 | $46,242 | $125,235 | $313,838 |
| 46 | $45,003 | $122,999 | $358,075 |
| 47 | $45,100 | $128,323 | $400,000 |
| 48 | $45,032 | $116,730 | $348,002 |
| 49 | $45,021 | $129,431 | $368,169 |
| 50 | $46,406 | $131,636 | $397,470 |
| 51 | $47,000 | $134,370 | $351,499 |
| 52 | $48,050 | $130,065 | $380,700 |
| 53 | $48,000 | $130,501 | $400,332 |
| 54 | $45,169 | $135,400 | $338,300 |
| 55 | $46,827 | $132,420 | $312,302 |
| 56 | $47,600 | $130,288 | $330,784 |
| 57 | $47,004 | $127,023 | $371,722 |
| 58 | $47,000 | $131,172 | $360,499 |
| 59 | $45,513 | $127,141 | $426,199 |
| 60 | $46,000 | $137,825 | $490,067 |
| 61 | $48,017 | $142,356 | $387,999 |
| 62 | $49,000 | $140,793 | $354,600 |
| 63 | $46,274 | $130,240 | $269,685 |
| 64 | $47,072 | $146,011 | $332,997 |
| 65 | $48,000 | $130,739 | $355,629 |
| 66 | $52,000 | $152,020 | $456,999 |
| 67 | $47,400 | $150,943 | $396,894 |
| 68 | $47,400 | $142,263 | $411,608 |
| 69 | $53,900 | $142,487 | $255,778 |
| 70 | $50,552 | $156,795 | $826,725 |
Median increases noticeably from ages 18 to 35, but then begins to level off. Notice how the median income for 35-year-olds is $44k. This number only climbs slightly to $46k for 45-year-olds, $46k for 55-year-olds, and $48k for 65-year-olds.
What Percentage of Individuals Earn $50k or More by Age?
The following chart shows what percentage of individuals earn $50k or more by age.
It's interesting to see that only one-third of all 30-year-olds earn $50k or more per year. This number jumps to 44% for 40-year-olds, 45% for 50-year-olds, and reaches a max of 52% for both 66 and 69-year-olds.
What Percentage of Individuals Earn $100k or More by Age?
The following chart shows what percentage of individuals earn $100k or more by age.
Only 7% of all 30-year-olds earn $100k or more per year. This number jumps to 15% for 40-year-olds, 16% for 50-year-olds, and reaches a max of 21% for 66-year-olds.
Notes
Data used for this analysis comes from the IPUMS Current Population Survey for social, economic, and health research. All visuals were created using D3.js, a JavaScript library for data visualizations.