Household incomes in the US jumped by a record amount in 2015, which also saw the biggest drop in poverty levels recorded since 1999. Maryland and D.C. have the highest median household incomes at $75,847 and $75,628, respectively. The one-year estimates released Thursday covered all communities with 65,000 or more residents, although sample sizes limit certainty about numerous measures.
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The Census Bureau figures confirmed, however, that much of the economic growth in 2015 was concentrated in large cities, not the rural areas where Republican nominee Donald Trump derives most of his support. In real terms, that’s equal to a $2,800 rise compared with 2014’s median household income-growth of more than 5%.
The bureau also said the United States poverty rate in 2015 fell to 13.5 per cent, 1.2 percentage point lower from 2014 and the people in poverty reduced to 43.1 million, 3.5 million lower than 2014. Its traditional measurement pegs California’s poverty rate at 15 percent – roughly in the middle of the pack.
Nassau’s median income ranked first and Suffolk’s was third in the ranking of 39 NY counties that met the population threshold for inclusion.
The largest increases in incomes were for households in the bottom fifth of all earners, while incomes declined slightly for households in the top fifth.
About 2.4 million more Americans have found full-time year-round work in 2015, according to Census officials. The median is still 1.6 percent lower than in 2007, before the recession. But an alternative measure that includes the cost of living shows California has the highest poverty rate of any state. Importantly, the poverty drop extended through several demographic groups, including whites, blacks, Hispanics, children and seniors, according to the report.
Inflation-adjusted median household income now stands at the same level as it did before the crash, suggesting that working-class households have only now regained the buying power they lost.
Although more details of household incomes in Minnesota will be released on Thursday, one Treasury document does confirm that the state’s poverty level is at 9.1 percent, the 2nd lowest in the country – after New Hampshire.
The number of people who earn at least $200,000 more than tripled in Clark County between 2005 and 2015, to almost 8,900 households.
Americans earned $53,700 in 2014 and $56,500 in 2015, an increase of 5.2 percent.
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The largest increases in insurance coverage came from those buying private insurance as opposed to government plans. The share of the population uninsured in 2014 was 10.4 percent, or 33 million people.
