Real median household income, the midpoint of what American households earn annually, fell 6.4 percent from 2007 to 2010, to $49,445, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data available. The 2011 data will be released this week.
Median household net worth plunged nearly 39 percent over those three years, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest data. A big factor likely was tumbling home values.
Meanwhile, poverty increased. About 46.2 million Americans, or 15.1 percent of the population, were living in poverty in 2010 as determined by the Census Bureau, an increase of 2.6 percentage points from 2007. That data also will be updated this week.
I look forward to reading the update this week.