The U.S. Census Bureau released new data today on income levels and a private Iowa think tank says its analysis shows a mixed bag. Elaine Ditsler, an analyst for the Iowa Policy Project, says compared to last year, Iowa’s median income has not significantly changed. Compared to the rest of the nation, she says Iowa’s median income is about one-thousand dollars less than the national average, and we rank 30th among the states. The median income rose from 42-thousand-807 dollars in 2003 to 43-thousand dollars in 2004. Ditsler things look a little bleaker when factor in inflation. She says the 2001 recession caused incomes to decline and the recovery hasn’t been strong enough to bring income levels back up. She says when you adjust for inflation, Iowans are making about two-thousand dollars less than they were in 1999. Ditsler says things appear to be stuck in neutral. She says we’re right in the middle of the pack and are still recovering from the recession, but then we didn’t drop compared to last year. The economy has shown some signs of growth with new jobs reported by the state. Ditsler says that could eventually lead to better incomes. She says it’s hard to predict what the economy is going to do the rest of the year, but continued job growth could lead to an increase in incomes. But she says the increase in income is also in part due to people working longer hours and more families with two parents working. The Census Bureau report showed the poverty rate in Iowa showed a small increase from nine-point-one percent to nine-point-nine percent.
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