real income

American  

[ree-uhl, reel] / ˈri əl, ril /

noun

1. the amount of goods and services that money income will buy.

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real income Cultural  

1. Income measured in terms of the goods and services it can buy.

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Etymology

Origin of real income

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

real income

That paper gain was a financial curse for families intending to stay put: While real income remained flat, tax bills went up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

"The subdued labor market, depressed confidence, meager real income growth, and exhaustion of pandemic-era excess savings all are starting to weigh on households," he warned.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

“On Jan. 1, working Americans will reset their withholding levels, and they will have substantial real income increases,” Bessent said.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025

"However, softer earnings growth, higher inflation, tighter fiscal policy, and the lagged impact of past interest rate rises for some mortgagors point to much weaker real income growth moving forward."

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2025

In truth, real income per capita is actually up by more than 8 percent this year alone.

From Russian Roulette: Russia's Economy in Putin's Era by Vaknin, Samuel