Median income up; poverty rate down

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Median household income rose for the second year in a row to $48,200, while poverty dipped for the second time in a row, to 12.3 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau said yesterday.

The changes were not a surprise, given declines in unemployment rates and the continuing economic recovery after the 2000 recession and September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The new 2006 median income — which means half of households had incomes greater than $48,200 and half had less than $48,200 — reflects a statistically significant 0.7 percent increase, said David Johnson, chief of the bureau's division on housing and household economic statistics.

The 2006 poverty rate also showed progress — previous poverty rates were 12.7 percent in 2004 and 12.6 percent in 2005. However, the new rate and the number of people estimated to live in poverty — 36.5 million — were not statistically different from 2005, Mr. Johnson said at a press conference in the bureau's new auditorium in Suitland.

There was a significant decrease in the poverty rate for elderly persons — it fell to 9.4 percent from 10.1 percent. But other 2006 poverty rates — 10.8 percent for working-age adults and 17.4 percent for children — were not considered to be statistically different from 2005.

Democrats called the economic improvements "meager."

"Too many Americans find themselves still stuck in the deep hole dug by economic policies favoring the wealthy," said House Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat. "Income remains lower than it was six years ago, poverty is higher and the number of Americans without health insurance continues to grow. This is not an economic success story."

Census data show that the recovery, in its fifth year in 2006, has been slow but steady: The highest-ever median income was $49,244 in 1999. After 2001, median income fell for several years but rebounded in the past two years.

Poverty rates were similarly affected by the 2000-2001 adversities: Poverty rose from 11.7 percent in 2001 to 12.7 percent in 2004, before drifting downward.

Income and poverty data from a separate American Community Survey (ACS), also released yesterday, said Maryland had the nation's highest median household income, $65,144.

Virginia ranked ninth with $56,277 in median household income and West Virginia was 49th with $35,059.

The District, with $51,847, was on par with Rhode Island, which ranked 16th with $51,814.

The ACS' county data for Maryland showed where the richest of the rich lived: Howard County was the wealthiest, with a median income of $94,260. Montgomery, Calvert and Charles counties were the next richest, with median incomes of $87,624, $84,891 and $80,179, respectively.