Article New York Times

Poverty Leveled Off Last Year, Even as Incomes Dropped

The share of Americans in poverty in 2011 remained unchanged for the first time in four years, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday, surprising economists who had expected the rate to rise yet again. Still, the report showed a decline in the incomes of middle-class Americans, offering a reminder that many American families have yet to experience gains from the weak economic recovery. Median household income, adjusted for inflation, was $50,054 last year, officials said, a decrease of 1.5 percent from 2010. The level was about 8 percent lower than in 2007, the year before the recession began. The measure peaked in 1999, when the median income for American households reached $53,252.