American households got some welcome news Tuesday: real median household income rose last year for the first time since 2007, before the recession hit. Still, the gap between those in the top 5 percent and everyone else widened even further.
Real median household income rose 5.2 percent last year, clocking in at $56,516 from $53,718, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. It grew even faster than for those households that fall into the highest segment measured: the top 5 percent.
So, what does it take to make the cut for the top 5 percent?
Households in the top 5 percent earned incomes of $214,463 or more. This number rose 3.7 percent. This group's mean, or average, household income rose to $350,870.
While this growth lagged the overall median on a percentage basis, the top 5 percent still control an outsized portion of total household income — at 22.1 percent of the total, higher than 2014's share of 21.9 percent.
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