Household incomes rose in Washington last year and the number of people living in poverty showed a slight decline, according to estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The number of residents without health insurance also is dropping, reflecting a national trend, the Census Bureau found.
The figures do not take into account the economic downturn that began late last year.
Nationally, 15.3 percent of the population was uninsured in 2007, down slightly from 2006. In Washington, the proportion without health insurance dropped from 12.8 percent of the population in 2004-05 to 11.6 percent in 2006-07. That still left about 770,000 uninsured people in the state last year.
The nation’s poverty rate held steady at 12.5 percent, about the same as the year before. In Washington, the poverty rate fell from 11.8 percent in 2006 to 11.4 percent — 725,000 people — in 2007.
The poor were not spread evenly. The Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate was 10.9 percent in the state’s metropolitan areas, basically communities with more than 100,000 residents, rising to 14.9 percent in micropolitan areas, which had more than 30,000 residents and to 16.9 percent in rural areas.
Nationally, the median household income rose slightly to $50,200. It was higher in Washington, going from $54,149 in 2006 to $55,591 in 2007, an increase of $1,442 or 2.6 percent
Washington was the only state in the Northwest to exceed the national median.
City residents made the most money with median income of $57,903 in Washington’s metropolitan areas, $44,314 in smaller communities and $39,487 in rural areas.
Nationwide, among cities with 250,000 or more residents, Seattle ranked seventh in median household income at $57,849 in 2007. Plano, Texas was tops at $84,492.
Men in Washington earned a median of $50,269 in 2007 and women averaged $37,454, 74.5 percent of men’s earnings. (AP)