Since the 1980s, ERS has reported an income measure for farm operator households comparable to the U.S. Census Bureau's measure for all U.S. households. Farm household income is highly variable through the years, primarily due to the volatility of farm income. Nonetheless, for every year since 1996, average income of farm households has exceeded average U.S. household income. In fact, the off-farm income component (of average farm operator household income) alone has exceeded average U.S. household income from all sources since 1998. This figure is from the Farm Household Economics and Well-Being briefing room, February 2011.