Colorado incomes on the decline

Census report shows state poverty rate up from 9.8% to 10.7%

Rocky Mountain News

Published August 30, 2006 at midnight

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Incomes dropped in Colorado last year, while the poverty rate rose and the percentage of residents without health insurance stayed about the same, according to two Census Bureau reports released Tuesday.

Median household income fell 2.4 percent to $51,518. Despite the drop, the state had the 13th highest income level in the nation.

At the same time, the poverty rate rose to 10.7 percent of the population, up from 9.8 percent the prior two years. That was still the 15th lowest level in the U.S.

Statewide, 16.8 percent of residents lacked health insurance, down from 16.9 percent in 2003-2004. That was above the national average of 15.7 percent.

The Census Bureau calculates incomes and poverty by averaging two years worth of survey data.

Among the most populous counties in Colorado, Douglas had the highest median household income, $87,670, and lowest poverty rate, 2.9 percent. Pueblo County had the lowest median income, $37,305, and highest poverty rate, 18.5 percent.

Among cities and places over 65,000 in population, Highlands Ranch had the highest median household income, $93,677, and lowest poverty rate, 2.4 percent. The city of Pueblo had the lowest median household income, $31,261, and highest poverty rate, 23.3 percent.

In Denver, the median household income was $42,370 and the poverty rate was 15.3 percent.

Metro poverty

How the metro area's largest counties fared in 2005

County	Median household income	Poverty rate
Adams	$50,650	12%
Arapahoe	$54,838	9.4%
Boulder	$57,502	11.8%
Denver	$42,370	15.3%
Douglas	$87,670	2.9%
Jefferson	$60,944	7.4%