Per Capita Income
Total personal income earned by all residents of a ZIP code divided by the total population, including non-earners such as children and retirees.
Per capita income is calculated by summing all personal income (wages, salaries, investments, government transfers) earned by residents of a geographic area and dividing by the total population — including children and others without income. This makes it consistently lower than median household income for the same area.
The Census Bureau reports per capita income at the ZCTA level through the American Community Survey. The national per capita income was approximately $41,000 as of the 2022 ACS. ZIP-level values range from under $10,000 in economically distressed areas to over $100,000 in affluent communities.
Per capita income is useful for comparing economic levels across ZIP codes with different household sizes and structures. It is used in federal program eligibility (such as Community Development Block Grants) and in economic research.