Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August reveal that North Dakota was the only state in the nation that saw a decline in poverty and in increase in median household income from 2001 to 2003.
Data published in the report Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003show that North Dakota's poverty rate, expressed in two-year averages, declined from 12.7 percent in 2001-2002 to 10.6 percent in 2002-2003. Based on two-year averages over the same period, the state's median household income increased from $37,112 to $38,720. Of the other five Ninth District states, none showed a decline in poverty and only Montana showed an increase in household income.
To access the report, visit www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p60-226.pdf.
