Annual Social and Economic Supplement

Measuring a Changing America
In our rapidly changing world, leaders,
policymakers, and researchers need current information to make good decisions.
That is why we conduct the
Annual Social and
Economic Supplement
to the Current Population
Survey every year.
Because of the cooperation
we received from the
households participating
last year, we have been
able to learn a great
deal about how
we live and
work.

Here are three categories of
important facts and emerging
trends the U.S. Census Bureau
has discovered about
Americans and their families:

Keeping Your Information
Confidential
All the information given by you to the
U.S. Census Bureau for this survey is confidential by law (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). All
Census Bureau employees take an oath to this
effect and are subject to a jail penalty and/or
fine if they disclose any census information
given to them. We use computers to collect
the survey data, but the information is
encrypted to ensure its confidentiality. We
present published information only in the
form of statistical summaries, and we never
release any information that could identify
individuals. The Census Bureau has established rigid procedures and guidelines to
ensure data confidentiality and is proud of
the excellent reputation it has earned in
this regard.

The Changing Situation of
Americans and Their Families
Facts From the Current Population Survey
Annual Social and Economic Supplement

Thank you for your participation
in the Current Population Survey.
For more information, call one of our
regional offices or visit us on our Web
site at .
Atlanta
404-730-3832
Chicago
800-865-6384
Denver
800-593-5096
Los Angeles
800-992-3530, #2
New York
800-991-2520, #43475
Philadelphia
800-262-2367

• Median household income
• People without health
insurance coverage
• Poverty rate and number
of people in poverty

Issued November 2012
CPS-676 (11/2012)

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov

Household Income
Median household
income was $50,054 in
2011, a 1.5 percent decline in real terms from
2010. This was the second consecutive annual
decline in household income.
In 2011, real median household income
was 8.1 percent lower than in 2007, the
year before the most recent recession, and
was 8.9 percent lower than the median
household income peak that occurred in
1999.
Median family household income declined
by 1.7 percent in real terms between 2010
and 2011 to $62,273. The change in the
median income of nonfamily households
was not statistically significant.
Real median income declined for nonHispanic White households and Black
households between 2010 and 2011, while
the changes for Asian households and
Hispanic households were not statistically
significant.
Real median household incomes for each
race and the Hispanic origin group have
not yet recovered to their pre-2001 recession all-time highs.

Median Household Income By
Type of Household: 2011

All households

People Without Health
Insurance Coverage for the
Entire Year by Selected
Characteristics: 2011

$50,054

Total family
households

All people
(In percent)

$62,273
Total

Married-couple
households
Female householder,
no husband present

$74,130

29.6

Sex

Total nonfamily
households
Female householder
Male householder

28.2

Age

$30,221

9.4
13.8

Under 18 years

$25,492

25.4

18 to 24 years

37.1
28.0

25 to 34 years

$35,482

49.2
21.0

35 to 44 years
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

47.2

65 years
and older

Poverty Rates of People in
Families by Family Type and
Presence of Workers: 2011
(In percent)

16.3

45 to 64 years

Health Insurance Coverage

38.7

Total

1.7

With no workers

5.4

With 1 or more workers

Race and Hispanic Origin1

In 2011, the percentage of people without
health insurance decreased to 15.7 percent
from 16.3 percent in 2010. The number of
uninsured people decreased to 48.6 million,
down from 50.0 million in 2010.
Both the percentage and number of people
with health insurance increased in 2011, to
84.3 percent and 260.2 million, up from 83.7
percent and 256.6 million in 2010.

The chart below shows lower poverty rates
for family members living with at least one
worker than for family members living with
no worker–9.6 percent compared with 37.6
percent. The same pattern held when families were classified by family types.

31.2
14.6

Female
$49,567

In 2011, the official poverty rate was 15.0
percent. After 3 consecutive years of increases, neither the official poverty rate nor
the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2010 estimates.
The number of people in poverty rose for 4
consecutive years.

16.9

Male

$33,637

Male householder, no
wife present

People in poverty

15.7

Poverty Rate, Number of People
in Poverty

White
White,
non-Hispanic
Black
Asian

14.9
31.1
11.1
27.6

73.2

19.5
25.8
16.8
31.5

Hispanic
(any race)

51.3

30.1
35.7

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 of 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 2010 through American
FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than
one race in Census 2010.
1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

37.6
34.2

24.5
16.5

19.2
13.1

11.7

9.6
7.4

In families

6.0

In marriedcouple
families

In femalehouseholder
families

In malehouseholder
families

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.