LANSING – Median income in Michigan improved in 2011, figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau showed, and the rate of poverty declined in the state.
The improvements in the state’s income came as incomes nationally fell slightly when adjusted for inflation. U.S. median income in 2011 was $50,054, down from $50,831 in inflation adjusted dollars (though an increase in real dollars).
In Michigan, median income in 2011 stood at $48,879. In 2010, median incomes in Michigan were $46,276. In inflation adjusted dollars, median income in Michigan in 2010 was $47,736, so the increase in Michigan’s 2011 median income was a real increase.
The report also pegged the state with the 8th-highest growth among all the states in 2011.
Connecticut had the highest median income at $65,415. South Carolina had the lowest at $40,084.
In terms of the percentage of people living in poverty in Michigan, 15 percent were living below the poverty line in 2011. In 2010, figures showed 15.7 percent living in poverty.
The state poverty level matched that of the U.S. level in 2011, when it showed 15 percent of the people in the U.S. living in poverty. In 2010, 15.1 percent of Americans were living in poverty.
New Hampshire had the lowest rate of poverty at 7.6 percent while New Mexico had the highest rate at 22.2 percent.
In terms of persons without some form of health insurance, Michigan saw the percentage drop to 12.5 percent in 2011, representing about 1.2 million. In 2010, an estimated 13 percent of the population did not have health insurance.
Nationally, an estimated 15.7 percent of the population did not have some form of health insurance, totaling an estimated 48 million people without either private or public insurance.
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