About
Income provides economic resources that shape choices about housing, education, child care, food, medical care, and more. Wealth, the accumulation of savings and assets, helps cushion and protect us in times of economic distress. As income and wealth increase or decrease, so do opportunities for health.
Why Is Income Important to Health?
Income can come from jobs, investments, government assistance programs or retirement plans. Income allows families and individuals to purchase health insurance and medical care, but also provides options for healthy lifestyle choices. Families and individuals made vulnerable by poverty are most likely to live in unsafe homes and neighborhoods, often with limited access to healthy foods, employment options, and quality schools.
While the starkest difference in health is between those with the highest and lowest incomes, this relationship persists throughout all income brackets. Adults in the highest income brackets are healthier than those in the middle class and will live, on average, more than six years longer than those with the lowest incomes1.
The ongoing stress and challenges associated with poverty can lead to cumulative health damage, both physical and mental. Chronic illness is more likely to affect those with the lowest incomes, and children in low-income households are sicker than their high income counterparts2. Mothers with lower incomes are more likely to have pre-term or low birthweight babies, who are at higher risk for chronic diseases and behavioral challenges1.
Income inequalities in a community can accentuate differences in social class and status and serve as a social stressor. Communities with greater income inequality can experience a loss of social connectedness, as well as decreases in trust, social support, and a sense of community for all residents.
Communities can adopt and implement policies that help reduce and prevent poverty, now and for future generations. The greatest health improvements may be made by increasing income at the lower levels, where small increases can have the greatest impacts.
References
1 Braveman P, Cubbin C, Egerter S, Williams D, Pamuk E. Socioeconomic Disparities in Health in the United States: What the Patterns Tell US. American Journal of Public Health. 2009; 100, S186_S196.
2 Braveman P, Gottlieb L. The Social Determinants of Health: It’s Time to Consider the Causes of the Causes. Public Health Reports 2014; 129:1_suppl2, 19-31.
3 Lynch J, Smith GD, Harper S, Hillemeier M. Is income inequality a determinant of population health? Part 2. U.S. National and regional trends in income inequality and age- and cause-specific mortality. Milbank Quarterly. 2004; 82(2):355-400.
FAQs
1. : a gain or recurrent benefit usually measured in money that derives from capital or labor. also : the amount of such gain received in a period of time.
What is considered income? ›
Income can be money, property, goods or services. Even if you don't receive a form reporting income, you should report it on your tax return. Income is taxable when you receive it, even if you don't cash it or use it right away. It's considered your income even if it's paid to someone else on your behalf.
What does my income mean? ›
Gross income is the amount of money you earn before taxes and other deductions. Annual gross income is the amount you earn annually on paper. Net income is the amount of money you take home after taxes and any deductions are taken out of your paycheck. Annual net income is how much you actually take home each year.
What is the best definition for income? ›
Income is money or value that an individual or business entity receives in exchange for providing a good or service or through investing capital.
What is example of income? ›
Common examples of disposable income include wages, interest, dividends, and profits. The term, "discretionary income," means income generated from sources that are not part of a person's regular salary, such as dividends from stocks, investments, and side jobs.
How do you explain income? ›
Income generally refers to the amount of money, property, and other transfers of value received over a set period of time in exchange for services or products.
What is not counted as income? ›
Nontaxable income won't be taxed, whether or not you enter it on your tax return. The following items are deemed nontaxable by the IRS: inheritances, gifts and bequests. cash rebates on items you purchase from a retailer, manufacturer or dealer.
What money counts as income? ›
Taxable income includes wages, salaries, bonuses, and tips, as well as investment income and various types of unearned income.
What makes up your income? ›
Adjusted gross income, also known as (AGI), is defined as total income minus deductions, or "adjustments" to income that you are eligible to take. Gross income includes wages, dividends, capital gains, business and retirement income as well as all other forms income.
How do I determine my income? ›
If you work the same number of hours each week, you can find your gross annual income by multiplying your normal weekly pay by 52. For example, if you worked 40 hours in one week, at an hourly rate of $10 per hour, you might make $20,800 annually if you usually work the same amount of hours.
“Good income is not a moral statement,” Ramsey explained. “Good income is relative to the average household income in America, which is $78,000 right now.” Real median household income in the U.S. was $78,250 in 2019 and fell to $74,580 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. "You're not a bad person.
What is my real income? ›
Real Income = Wages - (Wages x Inflation Rate) Real Income =Wages / (1 + Inflation Rate)
What can be defined as an income? ›
Income is money that an individual or business receives in exchange for providing labor, producing a good or service or investing capital. Individuals typically earn income through wages or salary, while businesses earn income from selling goods or services above their cost of production.
What can be classified as income? ›
Taxable earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee pay. It can also include union benefits and long-term disability benefits received prior to retirement age.
How is income legally defined? ›
n. money, goods or other economic benefit received. Under income tax laws, income can be "active" through one's efforts or work (including management) or "passive" from rentals, stock dividends, investments and interest on deposits in which there is neither physical effort nor management.
What is the mean income mean? ›
Mean household income
In the case of mean income, the income of all households is divided by the number of all households.
What does income mean in a job? ›
Earned income includes all of the following types of income: Wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee pay. Employee pay is earned income only if it is taxable. Nontaxable employee pay, such as certain dependent care benefits and adoption benefits, is not earned income.
Is income yearly or monthly? ›
Annual income is the total amount of money you or a business earn during a fiscal year. For individuals, it includes salary before deductions like taxes and retirement contributions.
What kind of money counts as income? ›
Taxable income includes wages, salaries, bonuses, and tips, as well as investment income and various types of unearned income.
