census

Nativity
Real median household income rose
by 3.3 percent to $42,040 for
foreign-born households between
2004 and 2005 (Table 1). The apparent
change for native households was
not statistically significant. 15 Among
foreign-born households, those maintained
by a householder who was a
naturalized citizen experienced an
increase in median income of 5.0 percent
to $50,030, which was higher
than that of native households
($46,897). 16
Region
Real median income of households
rose in the Northeast (2.9 percent)
and in the West (1.5 percent) between
2004 and 2005. The apparent
change in the median income of
households for the other two regions
was not statistically significant
(Table 1). 17 The last time the
Northeast experienced an annual
increase in median household income
was in 2000; for the West it was in
1999. In 2005, households in the
Northeast had the highest household
income ($50,882), followed by households
in the West ($50,002) and the
Midwest ($45,950). Households in
the South had the lowest median
income ($42,138).
15
Native households are those in which the
householder was born in the United States,
Puerto Rico, or certain U.S. island areas (Guam,
the Northern Mariana islands, or the Virgin
Islands of the United States) or was born in a
foreign country but had at least one parent who
was a U.S. citizen. All other households are considered
foreign born regardless of the date of
entry into the United States or citizenship status.
The CPS does not interview households in Puerto
Rico. Of all households, 87.1 percent were
native households, 6.1 percent were households
with foreign-born householders who were naturalized
citizens, and 6.8 percent were noncitizen
households.
16
The difference between the percent
increases in median household income of
foreign-born households and households maintained
by a naturalized citizen was not statistically
significant.
17
The difference between the increases in
median household income of the Northeast and
the West was not statistically significant.
Table 2.
Income of Households by Race and Hispanic Origin Using
3-Year-Average Medians: 2003 to 2005
(Income in 2005 dollars)
Income Inequality
Race 1 and Hispanic origin
The Gini index, one of the most
widely used inequality measures, did
not measure a statistically significant
change in household income inequality
between 2004 and 2005. Over
the past 10 years, the Gini index has
increased 4.2 percent (from 0.450 to
0.469), although the individual
annual differences since then were
not statistically significant.
(Appendix Table A-3 lists historical
inequality measures.) 18
The Gini index is computed by using
the shares of aggregate income
3-year-average
median income 2
2003–2005 3
(dollars)
Estimate
90-percent
confidence
interval 4 (±)
All races . . . ................................ 46,037 216
White . . . ........................................... 48,399 226
White, not Hispanic . . .............................. 50,677 252
Black . . . ............................................ 31,140 397
American Indian and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,627 1,680
Asian . . . ........................................... 59,877 1,239
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,318 4,183
Hispanic origin (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,467 521
1 Federal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic
ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian
and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as those who reported Asian regardless of whether
they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This table shows data using the first
approach (race alone). The use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of
presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. Information on people who
reported more than one race, such as White and American Indian and Alaska Native or Asian and Black or
African American, is available from Census 2000 through American FactFinder. About 2.6 percent of people
reported more than one race in Census 2000.
2 The 3-year-average median is the sum of three inflation-adjusted single-year medians divided by 3.
3 The 2004 data have been revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC.
4 A 90-percent confidence interval is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the confidence
interval in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. For more information, see
‘‘Standard Errors and Their Use’’ at .
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2004 to 2006 Annual Social and Economic
Supplements.
18
Direct comparisons with years earlier than
1993 are not recommended because of substantial
methodological changes in the 1994 ASEC.
In that year, the Census Bureau introduced
computer-assisted interviewing, increased income
reporting limits, and introduced new 1990 decennial-census-based
population controls.
received by households at various
levels in the distribution (e.g., percentiles).
The share of aggregate
income received by the quintiles can
also be used as an inequality measure.
The differences between 2004
and 2005 in the shares for each of
the five quintiles were not statistically
significant. In 2005, the share of
aggregate income received by the
lowest household income quintile
was 3.4 percent. The second quintile
received 8.6 percent; the third quintile,
14.6 percent; the fourth quintile,
23.0 percent; and the highest quintile,
50.4 percent.
The ratio of household income at various
percentiles can also be used as a
measure of income inequality.
Between 2004 and 2005, real median
income rose by 1.1 percent, the
8 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005 U.S. Census Bureau