Nation’s Household Income Stable In 2000.

The nation’s poverty rate dropped from 11.8 percent in 1999 to 11.3 percent in 2000 — virtually matching the record low set in 1973 — while real median household income ($42,148 in 2000) did not change from the 1999 level, which was the highest ever recorded. These findings are according to two reports released by the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.

“The drop in the poverty rate belongs to a larger story of economic recovery since the last recession,” said Daniel Weinberg, chief of the Census Bureau’s Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.

“Poverty rates tend to peak soon after a recession. For instance, following the most recent recession in 1990-91, the poverty rate peaked in 1993. However, since that time, recovery has been wide-ranging as each racial, ethnic and age group has experienced declines in their poverty rates.”

According to the poverty report, the poverty rate in 2000 was 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 1999. About 1.1 million fewer people were poor in 2000 than in 1999 — 31.1 million versus 32.3 million. The poverty rate in 2000 was the lowest in 21 years — not statistically different from the rate in 1979 or the record low of 11.1 percent set in 1973. In addition, the number of poor families fell by nearly half a million over the period, to 6.2 million in 2000.

Groups Matching or Surpassing in 2000 Their All-Time Low Poverty Rate. (Click above on ‘More Images’ for chart)

Averaging 1998-2000, the poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives was 25.9 percent. Averages were used because the American Indian and Alaska Native population is relatively small and multiyear averages provide more reliable estimates. Because of increased interest in poverty data for all races, the Census Bureau last year began publishing such data about American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The poverty rate for people under 18 years old (16.2 percent) dropped for the third consecutive year, reaching the lowest rate since 1979. Despite the decrease in their poverty rate, people under 18 had a higher poverty rate than those in any other age group.

The poverty rate declined more for 18- to 24-year-olds than for any other age group — a 3 percentage-point drop from 17.3 percent in 1999 to 14.4 percent in 2000.

Averaging 1998 to 2000, New Mexico statistically matched Louisiana and the District of Columbia for the highest poverty rate. Seventeen states had the lowest poverty rates.

Based on comparisons of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, 10 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon and Pennsylvania) and the District of Columbia showed decreases in their poverty rates.

The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2000 was $17,603 in annual income; for a family of three, it was $13,738.

Groups Matching or Setting New All-Time High Median Household Income in 2000 (Click above on ‘More Images’ for chart)

A three-year average (1998-2000) median household income estimate for American Indians and Alaska Natives was $31,799. As with the poverty data, the averages were used because the American Indian and Alaska Native population is relatively small and multiyear averages provide more reliable estimates.

Family households maintained by women with no husband present experienced a 4.0 percent increase in real income between 1999 and 2000, to $28,116. Other types of households experienced no significant change in their median household income.

The only region to experience an increase in real median household income between 1999 and 2000 was the Northeast, where it rose 3.9 percent, from $43,394 to $45,106.

A 1.9 percent growth in real income for suburban households, to $50,262, drove a 1.7 percent increase for all metropolitan households, to $44,984. Meanwhile, the median income of households outside metropolitan areas dropped by 3.8 percent, to $32,837.

The median income of foreign-born households with a householder who was not a U.S. citizen increased by 9.8 percent in real terms between 1999 and 2000 to $35,413.

For the first time in four years, men who worked full-time, year-round experienced a decline in their real median earnings, falling from $37,701 to $37,339 — a 1.0 percent drop. Women with similar work experience had no significant change in median earnings ($27,355). The resulting ratio of female-to-male earnings (0.73) for such workers returned to a level comparable to its all-time high recorded in 1996 (0.74).

Real per capita income rose by 1.4 percent, from $21,893 to $22,199, in real terms, for the overall population but remained statistically unchanged for each of the racial groups and Hispanics.

Averaging 1998 to 2000, the real median household income for Maryland, although not statistically different from the median incomes for Alaska, New Jersey, Connecticut and Minnesota, was higher than that for the remaining 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Conversely, the median household income for West Virginia, although not statistically different from the median for Arkansas, was lower than the incomes of the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Between 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, real median household income rose in six states (California, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Missouri and New York) and declined in three (Alabama, Louisiana and Washington).

The income report also presents alternative measures of income that take into account the effects of taxes and noncash benefits.

These data are from the March 2001 Current Population Survey. As with all survey data, they are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.

The reports, Money Income in the United States: 2000 and Poverty in the United States: 2000 CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat required):

http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf

For more information at http://www.census.gov