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Median Family Income 1979-89

Below are the facts proving that after declining during the Carter years, median family income rebounded sharply during the Reagan years.

Median Family income 1979-89 Constant 1990 dollars Year Income 1979 $35,474 1980 $33,346 1981 $32,190 1982 $31,738 1983 $32,378 1984 $33,251 1985 $33,689 1986 $35,129 19871 $35,632 1988 $35,565 1989 $36,062 Notes: [1] Data processing procedures revised, subsequent figures not directly comparable with prior years. Source: American Almanac, Page 449, table 703 (1993 ed.) Current statistics available from the Census Bureau.

Note that we're showing figures from 1979 through 1981 as well as the Reagan fiscal years in order to demonstrate the magnitude of the decline that preceded Reagan. Some Reagan deniers try to include these years without showing all years, which masks the massive decline prior to Reagan and the subsequent rise. Only showing 1979 and 1989, for example, would make it appear that there was little growth during the 1980s! Critics have tried to counter these statistics by claiming that the only reason that median family income rose is that more people in family "had to" go to work because the primary breadwinner was making less money. However, this allegation is easily debunked. As the figures for incomes for men and incomes for women show, individuals were making more money, not less! You can view a chart of median family income.

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