New data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data finds modest progress in health care access, median household incomes and income inequality, but little improvement in reduced poverty.
- Median household income increased in Connecticut by $1,211 in 2015, from $70,048 to $71,346. Demographically, only whites experienced meaningful median household income growth, leaving persistent minority gaps – in 2015, whites households earned $36,906 more than blacks and $38,953 more than Latinos.
- The rate of Connecticut’s uninsured fell, from 7% to 6% in 2015. The drop was small compared to other states, in part because Connecticut already boasted one of the lowest uninsured rates in the nation.
- Connecticut was the only state in the nation to see a statistically significant decline in income inequality, measured by the Gini Index. The decrease follows five straight years of increases. Connecticut remains the second most unequal state in the nation behind New York.
- Statewide, poverty didn’t budge. More than one in ten individuals remain in poverty – 2.5 percentage points above pre-recession levels. Child poverty persists at 14.5 percent, and still remains more than three percentage points above pre-recession levels. Poverty gaps between blacks and Latinos and whites closed slightly, but still remain 14.4 and 18.9 percentage points apart, respectively.
For more in-depth information, see interactive data from report by visiting our Tableau page.
