Negative household income variable

CPS
1

Hi IPUMS Staff,
I’ve created a data extract of single women spanning the years 2000-2020, and when I checked the descriptives of the hhincome variable, Stata reports a minimum value of -28454. It looks like this number is attached to 3 people (20040301925902; 20040301925904; 20040301925903) in a single household (20040301925900) in 2005. I’m wondering what the possible reason could be for a negative household income value? Thanks in advance!

2

Correction: this data extract is not restricted to single women, just childbearing-aged women.

3

It is possible for a household’s income to be negative. This is especially the case for those who own businesses. Business losses are recorded as negative values in the variable INCBUS. I suggest looking at the components of INCTOT to verify that this is the case in your example.

4

Will do. Thanks!