Surveys of Income
- Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPA ASEC)Provides national-level income and poverty statistics back to 1989.
- BEA Local Area Personal IncomeState and metropolitan areas.
- Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)"(SAIPE) program provides annual estimates of income and poverty statistics for all school districts, counties, and states...The estimates are not direct counts from enumerations or administrative records, nor direct estimates from sample surveys. Instead, for counties and states, we model income and poverty estimates by combining survey data with population estimates and administrative records. For school districts, we use the model-based county estimates and inputs from federal tax information and multi-year survey data to produce estimates of poverty. " more...
Decennial Census (1940 - 2000) and the American Community Survey
The first questions about income (beyond occupation and value of real estate) appear in the 1940 decennial census. (Encyclopedia of the Census, 260).
In 1940, income data is published for cities of 100,000 or more. Later, as the census relies more heavily on sampling for some of the data, and as census tracts and block groups are available as geographic levels, income data becomes available at the block-group level.
After 2000, income questions are no longer part of the decennial census and instead appear in the American Community Survey. See: the Cornell Library guide on the United States Census for additional information on searching the Census and the American Community Survey.
Access via the Cornell Premium Edition of Social Explorer or NGHIS.
Notes:
Anderson, M. J. (2000). Encyclopedia of the U.S. census. Washington, DC: CQ Press. [Olin Library Reference, HA37.U55 C66x 2000 +]