— and perhaps even worse off than just a year ago, too.
The Census Bureau reported that median household income in Utah was $55,493 in 2011, down 15 percent from the last presidential election year of 2008 and off 5.1 percent from 2010.
It also said Utah’s 2011 poverty rate was 11 percent — up from 10 percent in 2010 and from 7.6 percent in 2008.
However, sample sizes for Utah in the bureau’s Current Population Survey are small, so the one-year change is not considered statistically significant — meaning it could be caused by errors in sampling as easily as by real economic changes. But the four-year change is considered statistically noteworthy.
Nationally — where sample sizes are larger and more reliable — estimates released Wednesday show the median income dropped 1.5 percent in 2011, down from $50,831 in 2010 to $50,054 in 2011 dollars. It said the national poverty rate was 15 percent, considered essentially unchanged from the previous year after three years of increases.
Despite margin-of-error issues, Juliette Tennert, Utah state demographer said the data show that "we compare favorably to other states. But compared to our history, our poverty rate is up." Salt Lake Tribune
