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Incomes 6.5% Lower than When Recession Began, Down 1.5% Since Last Year

Black households see largest decline

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AP
September 16, 2015

Median household income declined to $53,657 in 2014, a figure 6.5 percent lower than in 2007, the year before the recession began, and 1.5 percent lower than last year, according to data released Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.

From 2007 to 2014, median household incomes declined by $3,700. From 2013 to 2014, the decline was $805.

According to the Census, median household income divides the income distribution into two, so half of incomes are greater, and half of incomes are less than the median.

In 2014, median incomes were $56,866 for white households, $42,491 for Hispanic households and $35,398 for black households. Since the recession began, black households have seen the largest decline in incomes, declining by $3,273—or 8.4 percent.

White households saw the second largest decline since the recession, declining by $2,640, or 4.4 percent. Hispanics saw a 3.8 percent decline in incomes in the same time frame.

From 2013 to 2014, median household incomes declined for both white and black households, but increased the most for Hispanics. Incomes for white and black households declined 1.4 percent from the previous year, while Hispanics saw incomes increase 5.3 percent.

The Census also finds that native-born households, those where the householder was born in the United States or other U.S. territories, saw their median incomes decline 2.3 percent in 2014.

Foreign-born households, which include either naturalized citizens or non-citizens, saw their incomes increase by 4.3 percent in 2014.

Update 2:53 P.M.: Due to an editing error, an incorrect version of this article was posted. It has been updated.