(Radio Iowa) — New U.S. Census data shows the median household income in Iowa grew in 2017 and the poverty rate declined. The Census Bureau reports Iowa’s median household income was more than 58-thousand dollars in 2017. That’s over four percent higher when compared to 2016. When INFLATION is factored in, the data indicates Iowa’s median household income rose roughly one-and-a-half percent from 2016 to 2017. The median income is a measurement representing the exact middle, but NOT the average income of Iowans.

The Census Bureau estimates 10-point-seven percent of Iowans were living at or below the poverty level in 2017. The poverty rate for Iowa a year earlier was nearly a percentage point higher, at an estimated 11-point-eight percent.