Richard Wolf, USA TODAY
The nation’s median household income rose to
$48,200, and the poverty rate fell to 12.3% in 2006, the first time
this decade that both improved, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
At the same time, however, median earnings for
men and women continued to fall, an indication that household income
rose as a result of more people working longer hours. The median is the
point at which there are equal numbers of incomes higher and lower.
