# Household Income

*Everyday Money — Finicade finance glossary*

Household income is the combined pre-tax income of everyone living at one address — the unit most statistics, mortgage decisions and benefit thresholds use. It's a better measure of living standards than individual pay because costs are shared, but it can mislead across countries and eras with different household sizes: a rising number of single-person households mechanically drags median household income down even when individual pay is flat.

**Also known as:** family income, combined income

**Related terms:** [Median Income](https://finicade.com/glossary/median-income), [Gross Income](https://finicade.com/glossary/gross-income), [Cost of Living](https://finicade.com/glossary/cost-of-living), [Income](https://finicade.com/glossary/income)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/household-income