Real median household income remained unchanged between 2003 and 2004 at $44,389,
according to the Census Bureau. However, the real median earnings of both men
and women who worked full-time, year-round declined between 2003 and 2004. The
median earnings of men declined by 2.3 percent, from $41,761 to $40,798, and
the median earnings of women declined by 1.0 percent, from $31,550 to $31,223.
Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and the District of Columbia
had among the highest median earnings for both men and women who worked full-time,
year-round.
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less than men's in 2004. The District of Columbia was the area with the greatest
parity between men's and women's earnings. There, women earned 91 cents for
every dollar that men earned.
Meanwhile, the nation's official poverty rate rose from 12.5 percent in 2003
to 12.7 percent in 2004, according to the bureau.
There were 37 million in poverty in 2004, up from 35.9 million in 2003. There
were 7.9 million families in poverty in 2004, up from 7.6 million in 2003. The
poverty rate for families remained unchanged at 10.2 percent. The poverty rate
and the number in poverty showed no change for the different type of families.
As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation
using the Consumer Price Index, the average poverty threshold for a family of
four in 2004 was an income of $19,307; for a family of three, $15,067; for a
family of two, $12,334; and for unrelated individuals, $9,645.
The number of people with health insurance increased by 2.0 million to 245.3
million between 2003 and 2004, and the number without such coverage rose by
800,000 to 45.8 million.