Median Income by Household Type: Married Couples, Single Parents, and Nonfamily Households

Household income is one of the most widely used measures of economic well-being in the United States, but the national median masks enormous variation by household composition. Married-couple families, single-parent families, and nonfamily households face very different economic realities, shaped by the number of potential earners, caregiving responsibilities, and labor market opportunities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, married-couple families had a median income of about $119,400 in 2023, while female-householder families with no spouse present had a median of roughly $58,000—a gap that has persisted for decades and carries major implications for child poverty, housing affordability, and economic mobility.

Key Numbers

• All households, median income (2023): $80,610
• Married-couple families, median income (2023): $119,400
• Female householder, no spouse present, median income (2023): $58,000
• Male householder, no spouse present, median income (2023): $75,000
• Nonfamily households, median income (2023): $48,000
• Married-couple families with children under 18, median income (2022): about $120,000
• Female-householder families with children under 18, median income (2022): about $40,000
• Income ratio, married-couple to female-householder families: roughly 2-to-1

Explanation

The Census Bureau classifies households into two broad groups: family households and nonfamily households. A family household consists of a householder and at least one other person related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Family households are further divided into married-couple families, male-householder families with no spouse present, and female-householder families with no spouse present. Nonfamily households are people living alone or with unrelated individuals only.

Median income differs so much by household type largely because of the number of earners and the presence of children. Married-couple families often have two potential earners, and they are more likely to include a college-educated adult in a higher-paying occupation. Single-parent families—especially those headed by women—frequently have only one earner, and that earner may face lower wages, part-time work, or caregiving constraints. Nonfamily households, which include many young adults and elderly people living alone, tend to have lower incomes because they often rely on a single earner or retirement income.

These differences are not simply statistical artifacts. They reflect long-standing structural patterns in the U.S. labor market, education, and family formation. The income gap between married-couple families and single-mother families is one of the most durable features of American income statistics, and it helps explain why children in single-parent households are much more likely to experience poverty.

Definition

In Census Bureau terminology, a householder is the person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. A family household includes a householder and at least one other person related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. A married-couple family is a family household in which the householder is married and the spouse is present. A female householder, no spouse present is a family household headed by a woman with no spouse present, often a single mother. A male householder, no spouse present is the analogous category for men. A nonfamily household is a householder living alone or with nonrelatives only.

When the Census Bureau reports median income by household type, it is reporting the middle value of total money income for all households in that category. Total money income includes earnings, Social Security, interest, dividends, rental income, public assistance, and other cash payments, but it excludes noncash benefits such as food stamps, housing subsidies, and employer-provided health insurance.

Why It Matters

Median income by household type is a critical indicator for understanding economic inequality, child well-being, and the financial pressures facing different family structures. Because single-parent families—especially female-headed families—have much lower median incomes, they are disproportionately represented among the poor. Children in these households are more likely to experience food insecurity, housing instability, and limited access to educational enrichment.

Policymakers use these figures to design and evaluate programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, child care subsidies, and child support enforcement. Researchers also use them to track how changes in marriage, divorce, and cohabitation affect economic security. For example, the rise in nonfamily households—now a large share of all U.S. households—has pulled the overall median household income downward relative to family households, even as married-couple family incomes have risen.

Factors Behind the Trend

Several factors explain the persistent income gaps by household type. The most important is the number of earners. Married-couple families often have two adults who can work, while single-parent families have only one potential earner. Even when both spouses work part-time or one stays home, the presence of a second adult provides a buffer against job loss and allows for greater labor market flexibility.

Education and age also play a role. Married-couple householders are, on average, older and more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher than single parents. Nonfamily households include many young adults just starting their careers and many elderly people living on fixed retirement income, which lowers their median income relative to family households.

Finally, the presence of children under 18 has a strong effect. Among family households, those with children under 18 tend to have lower median incomes than those without, partly because parents may reduce work hours to care for children. This effect is especially pronounced for single mothers, who often face high child care costs and limited access to flexible jobs.

Year-over-Year Change

Between 2022 and 2023, median household income rose for most household types, reflecting a strong labor market and wage growth. The overall median increased from $74,580 in 2022 to $80,610 in 2023, a gain of about 4.0 percent in nominal terms. Married-couple families saw their median rise from roughly $107,000 to $119,400. Female-householder families with no spouse present increased from about $54,000 to $58,000, while male-householder families rose from about $70,000 to $75,000. Nonfamily households also gained, from roughly $45,000 to $48,000.

These increases narrowed some gaps slightly, but the overall ranking remained unchanged. Married-couple families continued to have the highest median income, followed by male-householder families, then female-householder families, with nonfamily households at the bottom.

Historical Data

The income advantage of married-couple families is not new. Since the Census Bureau began publishing detailed income data by household type in the late 1960s, married-couple families have consistently reported the highest median incomes. Female-householder families have consistently reported the lowest among family types, and nonfamily households have generally fallen below all family households.

Over the past five decades, the gap between married-couple families and female-householder families has widened in dollar terms, even as the ratio has fluctuated. In the 1970s, the median income of married-couple families was roughly three times that of female-householder families. By the 2020s, the ratio had narrowed to about two-to-one, but the dollar gap had grown substantially because both incomes rose. This reflects both rising female labor force participation and the increasing concentration of single motherhood among women with less education and lower earnings potential.

Ranking Table

The table below ranks major household types by median income in 2023, based on the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.

When the focus narrows to households with children under 18, the ranking is similar but the gaps are even starker. Married-couple families with children under 18 had a median income of about $120,000 in 2022, while female-householder families with children under 18 had a median of roughly $40,000. Male-householder families with children under 18 fell in between, at about $60,000.

Methodology

The primary source for national median income by household type is the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). The survey collects detailed income information for a nationally representative sample of households each year. The Census Bureau then publishes tables such as HINC-02 and HINC-04, which cross-tabulate income by age of householder, type of household, race, and Hispanic origin.

Median income is calculated by ranking all households in a category from lowest to highest income and identifying the middle value. Because the median is not affected by extremely high incomes, it is generally preferred over the mean for comparing typical economic well-being across groups.

How the Statistic Is Calculated

To calculate median income by household type, the Census Bureau first assigns each household to a type based on the relationship of household members to the householder. It then sums the total money income of all household members aged 15 and older. The median is the income level at which half of households in that type have higher income and half have lower income.

For example, if there are 61 million married-couple families, the median is the income of the 30.5 millionth family when all married-couple families are sorted from lowest to highest income. This method ensures that a small number of very high-income households does not distort the measure.

Limitations of the Data

Median income by household type has several limitations. First, it measures money income before taxes and excludes noncash benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and housing subsidies. These benefits are more important for low-income single-parent and nonfamily households, so the official figures may understate their economic resources relative to married-couple families.

Second, the data do not adjust for household size. A married-couple family with two earners and two children has a higher median income than a single mother with one child, but it also has more people to support. Per capita income or income-to-poverty ratios provide a more complete picture of living standards.

Third, the CPS ASEC is a sample survey, so all estimates have sampling error. Small differences between years or between groups may not be statistically significant. Finally, the household type categories do not capture cohabiting couples, who are classified as nonfamily households unless they are related by marriage or adoption.

The Census Bureau cautions that median income comparisons across household types should account for differences in household size, number of earners, and noncash benefits.

Source & Data Date

The primary source for this article is the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Key tables include the 2024 CPS Household Income Table HINC-02, which reports income for 2023 by age of householder and type of household, and the 2023 CPS Household Income Table HINC-04, which reports income for 2022 by presence of children under 18 and type of household. The 2025 CPS HINC-02 table, covering income year 2024, was also consulted. Additional context comes from the American Community Survey table B19126, which provides median family income by family type and presence of own children.