U.S. News: Incomes Fell or Stagnated in Most States Last Year
The income of the typical U.S. family fell or was flat in almost every state last year, with the drop particularly steep in places where the economy has been hit hard by the housing bust.</br></br>The median annual household income -- the point on the income scale at which half earn more and half earn less -- fell in 18 states in 2011 from a year earlier after adjusting for inflation, according to a Census Bureau report to be released Thursday.</br></br>The sharpest drop occurred in Nevada, where median income fell by 6%. The median fell by 3.8% in California and by 2.9% in Arizona and Florida. Those four states are among those that have seen the biggest falls in home values and housing construction since the financial crisis, and where Americans are still struggling with the resulting heavy debt and high unemployment.</br></br>Nationally, the median income dropped by 1.3% to $50,502 in 2011. A separate report last week reported a slightly different median income level, but either way, the number is at a level last seen in the mid-1990s, continuing a long period of stagnant or falling wages since an all-time peak in 1999.</br></br>Last week's report focused on the national picture of income and poverty, while Thursday's data provide detail on the health of the recovery at the state and local level. It shows that despite 2011's marking the second full year of the recovery, poverty continued to rise in many regions. An estimated 335,760 people fell into poverty in California alone last year, pushing up the state's poverty rate to 16.6%. Poverty is defined as an annual income of $23,021 or lower for a family of four.