Miami Ranks No. 1 Among US Cities with Fastest-Growing Incomes

By Keith Larsen  – Reporter, South Florida Business Journal
November 7, 2017

The median household income in Miami rose more than any other U.S. city between 2015 and 2016, but its median income still falls far behind the U.S average.

A study by the personal finance site SmartAsset shows that the median income for Miami households increased in 2016 to $34,900, up 16.4 percent from 2015. Miami’s household income increase surpassed Oakland and Tampa which had the next biggest gains in income.

Oakland’s median income grew 15.7 percent to $68,060 and Tampa’s median household income increased 13.4 percent to $50,405.

But the study also shows that Miami’s $34,900 average household income is significantly below the U.S. average household income of $57,000.

This disparity could be a result of the large amount of hospitality and service jobs that make up Miami’s economy, since these jobs generally pay low wages. Miami-Dade County also has an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, higher than the Florida average of 3.8 percent in October.

The study does suggest, however, that wages in Miami seem to be on the upswing.

Adding to this point, Florida plans to increase its minimum wage by its largest amount since 2012, from $8.10 to $8.25 in January.

Overall, household incomes in the U.S. increased in 2016, and out of the largest 100 cities in the U.S. only 11 cities saw average household income drop, according to SmartAsset. In El Paso, Texas, Cleveland, Ohio and Baton Rouge, Louisiana incomes dropped by over 4 percent.

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