The median household in Idaho is earning more than $10,000 more than it did five years ago, the fastest pace of growth in the nation, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The figures, from a five-year survey of the American population, show the median income of households across the country rising 7% since the previous five-year study, adjusting for inflation. The median household income today stands at $78,538 — near an all-time high, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The largest increases came predominantly in Western states, with a few exceptions, either where waves of new residents are moving in or where costs of living are already high.
The median household income rose by more than 12% in Arizona and Rhode Island. Median incomes rose more than 11% in Washington, Oregon and California, and more than 10% in Florida, Colorado, Utah and Georgia.
Only three states — Wyoming, North Dakota and Alaska, all energy-producing states — saw median incomes fall over the five-year period.
Residents of Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have the highest median incomes, of more than $100,000 a year. The median income in the nation’s capital, $106,287, is nearly twice the median household income in Mississippi, $54,915, America’s poorest state.
The new Census figures show rising incomes cutting the federal poverty rate, from 14.1% to 12.4%. The number of American children living in poverty declined in 47 states and D.C. — though poverty rates among Americans over 65 rose in 42 states.