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Source of income | All consumers | Under 25 years | 25-34 years | 35-44 years | 45-54 years | 55-64 years | 65-74 years | 75 years and older |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wages and salaries |
77.6% | 87.7% | 92.2% | 89.4% | 86.5% | 76.0% | 42.9% | 14.9% |
Social Security, private and government retirement |
11.5 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 10.3 | 46.1 | 70.5 |
Self-employment income |
6.4 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 4.6 | 2.0 |
Interest, dividends, rental income, other property income |
2.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 9.1 |
Public assistance, supplemental security income, food stamps |
0.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
Unemployment and workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, and regular contributions for support |
0.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.2 |
Other income |
0.5 | 4.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
Among households with consumers age 55 and over in 2014, wages and salaries represented 76.0 percent of income before taxes for those ages 55 to 64; 42.9 percent for those ages 65 to 74; and 14.9 percent for those age 75 and older. For those age 75 years and older, social security and private and government retirement represented 70.5 percent of income before taxes. This compared with 46.1 percent for those ages 65 to 74 and 10.3 percent for those ages 55 to 64.
In 2014, among all age groups, households with consumers age 75 and older had the highest share of income before taxes in interest, dividends, rental income, and other property income (9.1 percent). Those under 25 years of age had the lowest share (0.8 percent), followed by those ages 35 to 44 (0.9 percent).
Among all age groups in 2014, households with consumers ages 55 to 64 had the highest share of income before taxes in self-employment income (8.3 percent). Those under the age of 25 and those age 75 and older had the lowest (2.0 percent).
These data are from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Consumer units include families, single persons living alone or sharing a household with others but who are financially independent, or two or more persons living together who share expenses. The age category is based on the age of the reference person in the consumer unit. Other members in the consumer unit can be older or younger than the reference person. To learn more, refer to annual expenditure tables.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Wages and salaries were 92 percent of income before taxes for consumers ages 25 to 34 in 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/wages-and-salaries-were-92-percent-of-income-before-taxes-for-consumers-ages-25-to-34-in-2014.htm (visited October 31, 2024).