Income inequality decreased, there was a rise in college degree holders, fewer individuals changed their residences, and the proportion of Asian and Hispanic inhabitants grew in the United States last year, according to data unveiled Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
These annual shifts, both major and minor, from 2023 to 2024 were detailed in the American Community Survey conducted by the bureau, which represents the most extensive yearly evaluation of American life. With input from 3.5 million households, the survey covers over 40 topics including income, housing expenses, veteran status, technology usage, commuting, and education.
Here’s a look at how the United States changed last year.
Income inequality dips
Across the nation, the income gap between the wealthiest and the poorest narrowed by almost half a percent from 2023 to 2024, as the median household income experienced a slight rise from $80,002 to $81,604.
Notably, five states in the Midwest — Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin — experienced significant declines in inequality, as did Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Puerto Rico.
Conversely, North Carolina was the only state to undergo a notable increase in inequality. This, according to North Carolina State economist Michael Walden, was due to the state’s development of high-wage jobs in technology and other professional sectors, while the labor scarcity that had increased wages in lower-paying service roles post-pandemic had subsided.
In South Dakota, which saw the largest decline at 4%, the reduction in inequality “might indicate stronger income growth among lower and middle-income households (or slower growth for the highest earners),” explained state demographer Weiwei Zhang in an email on Wednesday.
In Nebraska, it could be high employment rates across all demographic groups since “high employment leads to income, thus less income inequality,” said Josie Schafer, director of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
In Massachusetts, one of the traditional strengths of the state’s economy — high-paying jobs in life science, high tech and research — has been sluggish in the past two years, said Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at a University of Massachusetts Amherst institute.
“The typical jobs in this industry are the kind of thing that helps Massachusetts have the highest per capita (income) in the country but also exacerbates some elements of income inequality,” Melnik said.
Greater diversity and fewer people married
The United States became more demographically diverse, and fewer people were married from 2023 to 2024.
The non-Hispanic white population, who identify with only a single race, dropped from 57.1% to 56.3%, while the share of the nation’s Asian population rose from 6% to 6.3% and the Hispanic population rose from 19.4% to 20%. The rate of the Black population stayed the same at 12.1%, as did the American Indian Alaska Native alone population at 1%.
In the marriage department, the share of men who have never married increased from 37.2% to 37.6%, and it rose from 31.6% to 32.1% for women.
Fewer people moved, as costs of renting and owning homes rose
Last year, only 11% of U.S. residents moved to another home, compared to 11.3% in the previous year. The decline of people moving this decade has been part of a continuous slide as home prices have skyrocketed in some metros and interest rates have gone up. In 2019, by comparison, 13.7% of U.S. residents moved.
The monthly costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 from $1,960. Homeowners with a mortgage in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) had the highest median monthly costs.
Costs for renters also increased as the median rent with utilities went from $1,448 to $1,487.
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