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Real median household money income remained unchanged between 2002 and 2003 at a level of $43,318, following two consecutive years of decline. Median income remained unchanged for all types of family and nonfamily households (such as married-couple households and single individuals) between 2002 and 2003. The real median earnings of men who worked full-time, year-round remained unchanged between 2002 and 2003 at $40,668. The real median earnings of the comparable group of women declined by 0.6 percent to $30,724. Reflecting the fall in earnings of women, the female-to-male earnings ratio declined from 0.77 to 0.76 between 2002 and 2003.
Real median household income remained unchanged for most race groups between 2002 and 2003. For example, the median incomes of non-Hispanic White households, Black households, and Asian households remained unchanged. Hispanic households experienced a decline in median income of 2.6 percent.
Black households had the lowest median income. Their 2003 median money income was about $30,000, which was 62 percent of the median non-Hispanic White households.
Median money income for Hispanic households was about $33,000 in 2003, which was 69 percent of the median for non-Hispanic White households.
Asian households had the highest median income among race groups. Their 2003 median money income was about $55,500, 117 percent of the median for non-Hispanic White households.
Native households had real median income in 2003 ($44,347) that was not different from that in 2002. Foreign-born households experienced a real decline of 3.5 percent to $37,499. Households maintained by a foreign-born householder who was not a citizen of the United States experienced their third consecutive annual decline in real median household income, down 5.6 percent from 2002 to $32,806.
Median money income was $43,222 for native households, 14 percent higher than the median for foreign-born households ($37,979), and 27 percent higher than noncitizen foreign-born households ($33,980).
Real median income remained unchanged between 2002 and 2003 for households inside metropolitan areas overall and outside metropolitan areas, while the real median income of households in central cities of metropolitan areas declined by 1.4 percent to $37,174. This is the third consecutive year that households in central cities of metropolitan areas experienced a decline.
Real median money income of households did not change between 2002 and 2003 in three of the four regions, while income in the South declined 1.5 percent to $39,823. The South had the lowest income of any region. In 2003, the median income of households in the Northeast was $46,742; in the Midwest, it was $44,732; and in the West, it was $46,820.
The most populous occupational category among the 505 civilian occupations coded by the Census Bureau is Secretaries and administrative assistants, with 2.4 million year-round, full-time workers. Their median earnings in 1999 was $26,000 or 21 percent below the national median. One of the smallest occupations coded by the Census Bureau is Media and communication equipment workers, with just 500 workers in the United States, and median earnings of $45,000—38 percent above the national median.
Employment rates varied among the race and ethnic groups. Among the race and Hispanic or Latino origin categories, non-Hispanic Whites (single race) were most likely to be employed (75.4 percent) and least likely to be unemployed (2.9 percent). The percent of people unemployed was highest for those in the American Indian and Alaska Native category, 7.6 percent. Asians and non-Hispanic Whites (who reported no other race) were more often in management, professional, and related occupations than people reporting other races. Blacks (who reported no other race) were prominent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Hispanics led in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.
Census 2000 found that 63.9 percent of the 217.2 million people aged 16 and over in the United States were in the labor force. The labor force increased over the decade. Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people in the U.S. labor force increased by 13.5 million or 10.8 percent.
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