With more than 350,000 households in Indianapolis, it is not surprising that there is a wide disparity in household incomes. The median household income is $41,947 but many earn far below or above that.

Source: American Community Survey, 2006

The chart shows how the incomes of Indianapolis households are distributed. A significant portion – 41.4 percent – of households earns less than $35,000 a year; 46.3 percent earn between $35,001 and $100,000; and 12.3 percent earn more than $100,000.

How does this distribution compare? Indianapolis has a larger share of its population earning less than $35,000 than with the United States (36.5 percent) or Indiana (38.4 percent).

It is important to remember that not all households are the same. A household can be a single person, for whom $35,000 might be an adequate income. Or it may be a family of four or more people who, with an income of $35,000, would have great difficulty making ends meet. Indianapolis has more single-person households than the state, but it also has a higher rate of poverty.

  
 


   
     
  College-educated povertyThe wage curve  
  Indianapolis incomes are risingIndianapolis is good at attracting talented workersRecent immigrant incomes are lowCentral indianapays a higher premium to college-educated workers than other metro regionsOccupational wage curve analysis  
  IncomeThe income basicsIncome by race, number of householdsIncomes are highest for the 45-64 age groupThree kinds of incomePovertyIndianapolis incomes: middle of the packNearly one in five Indianapolis workers lives outside the countyIncomes and educationwhere the income comes from  
  Income by race, share of householdsIndianapolis is America's most affordable housing marketMore than $10 billion is earned in Indianapolis by non-residentsHigh incomes are concentrated outside IndianapolisIndianapolis has a wider income gap than most other cities between its urban core and its metro area  
  Poverty in Indianapolis is highest among children and youthsPoverty and racePoverty happens to females more than males, even among childrenMost people in poverty work at least part timeMany in poverty work their way out