US household income fell in 2022 for third straight year, Census data shows

American households' income fell last year as their cost of living jumped higher than it has in over four decades amid soaring inflation and marking the third straight annual decline since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The federal agency reported Tuesday that U.S. real median household income fell by 2.3% to $74,580 in 2022, down from $76,330 in 2021, noting that inflation rose 7.8%, which is the largest annual increase in the cost-of-living adjustment since 1981.

Despite the drop in income,...