Utah is above the curve in rankings
Income, poverty, health insurance figures steady
Meanwhile, the national poverty rate rose for the fourth consecutive year, from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004.
Utah's estimated poverty rate of 9.6 percent, for the three-year average from 2002 to 2004, was the nation's 10th lowest, according to the census report, "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004."
The report also showed Utah's three-year average real median household income of $50,614 was the nation's 11th highest; 13.4 percent of Utahns lacked health insurance, the nation's 21st lowest rate.
The data were compiled from the 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey of 100,000 households nationwide. The report covered the calendar year 2004 for national estimates, and a three-year average (2002-2004) for state estimates.
The report shows the number of people without health insurance nationwide rose by 800,000 in one year, although the percentage of uninsured remained unchanged at 15.7 percent. The national median household income remained statistically unchanged between 2003 and 2004, at $44,473.
"This is the fourth consecutive year in which the poverty rate has increased," Nelson said. "Past experience tells us that it is not uncommon to have several years of rising poverty following a recession."
However, Jared Bernstein, director of the Economic Policy Institute's living standards program, said the census figures show an "ongoing decline in income. . . . The fingerprints of a faltering job market are all over these data."
Bernstein said real median household income has gradually declined "despite economic expansion" since it peaked at $46,129 (2004 dollars) in 1999.
Robert Spendlove, manager of demographic and economic analysis for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, says he doesn't look at the numbers as stagnant but as showing "Utah continues to have strong economic growth and a strong presence of social factors."
Spendlove said all of Utah's relative rankings improved since last year's 2001-2003 average, when Utah ranked 12th in household income, 17th in persons in poverty, and 28th in persons without health insurance.
Spendlove said Utah's median household income tends to rank relatively high, despite the state's low per capita income because of a high dependent population.
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