The typical person has a higher income than ever

“U.S. inflation-adjusted median household income reached a record high of $87,460 in 2025, surpassing the previous record of $85,320, set in 2019,” notes The Doomslayer. That’s because the typical person has gotten better off. The median household income focuses on what typical people make, and ignores the rich. If only the rich were getting richer, but other people weren’t getting richer, the median income wouldn’t have risen. But the median income has risen, because middle class people have gotten richer.

The New York Times reports: “The financial well-being of Americans held relatively steady last year, even as the cost of living continued to climb….The share of Americans without health insurance stayed level. Median household income improved last year to $87,460, the highest level on record, adjusted for inflation.”

The U.S. poverty rate has fallen to the lowest level on record.

Average incomes would rise further if states got rid of occupational licensing restrictions that keep some people from working. Back in the 1950s, most states didn’t require hairstylists or hair braiders to get a license before they could cut people’s hair. Just 4 percent of Americans needed a license to work in 1950. Now, 30 percent of Americans need a occupational license to work.

As economist Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute notes, “The increase in mandatory licensing has reduced workforce mobility and created barriers to work and advancement. The barriers particularly harm young people starting their careers, people with low incomes, people switching occupations, people moving between states, veterans or military spouses, and people with a criminal record.”

As the Institute for Justice pointed out, studies find that licensing requirements typically increase costs to consumers while not improving the quality of services. Licensing board are often rackets focused on stifling competition rather than protecting consumers.

The harm from excessive occupational licensing regulations is so obvious that it has been emphasized by the administrations of Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, all of which recognized the need to cut back on occupational-licensing restrictions. “During the Obama administration, the Department of Labor and the White House Council of Economic Advisers published a lengthy report on licensing laws, and called for states to take action to remove unnecessary barriers to work. ‘Licensing restrictions cost millions of jobs nationwide and raise consumer expenses by over one hundred billion dollars,’ it concluded.”

The Trump administration also recognized the harm of occupational licensing, saying that “the cost and complexity of licensing creates an economic barrier for Americans seeking a job” and “a barrier for Americans that move from state to state.”

Kamala Harris also called for cutting back on occupational-licensing regulations in her 2024 presidential campaign.