How Much Money are People Making in Stonington?

New data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows some good news overall for Connecticut when it comes to incomes in 2015.

Connecticut's median household income was $71,346 in 2015 and the U.S. national average is $56,000. Of course, we know the cost of living here in the Constitution State is much higher than many places in the nation.

But most counties in Connecticut saw household income grow from 2014 to 2015 with New London County being an exception.

Overall for Connecticut, the median household income rose slightly from $70,048 in 2014 to $71,346 in 2015. In 2012, the state’s median household income was $67, 276. However, in 2013 the median household income in Connecticut was $67,098, which meant there was a slight decline from 2012 to 2013.

Here is a county-by-county view of the median household income in Connecticut with Fairfield County, not surprisingly, leading the way, followed by Middlesex and Tolland counties.

Middlesex County had the biggest growth over the past year, followed by Hartford and Tolland counties. There was a slight increase in Fairfield and New Haven counties. New London County saw a decrease.

Fairfield County: $86,414 median household income in 2015. It was $85,925 in 2014 and $82,084 in 2013.

Middlesex County: $83,530 median household income in 2015. It was $75,876 in 2014 and $75,303 in 2013.

Tolland County: $82,168 median household income in 2015. It was $78,786 in 2014 and $72,954 in 2013.

Hartford County: $69,622 median household income in 2015. It was $65,894 in 2014 and $63,603 in 2013.

New London County: $65,764 median household income in 2015. It was $66,148 in 2014 and $62,882 in 2013.

New Haven County: $61,769 median household income in 2015. It was $60,391 in 2014 and $58,571 in 2013.

The American Community Survey is conducted monthly, according to a Census statement, with income data collected for the 12 months preceding the interview. Data released Thursday included states and communities with a population larger than 65,0o0. Income, poverty and other demographic info for the rest of the country will be released in December with the 5-year survey results.

"The American Community Survey allows us to track incremental changes across our nation on how Americans live and work, year­-to­-year," Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson said in a statement. "It helps people, businesses and governments in all of our states and local communities better understand the needs of their populations, the markets in which they operate and the challenges and opportunities they face."

Incomes rose in 21 of the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas, while poverty decreased in 16 out of the 25. National numbers released earlier this week noted that the nation had seen an annual increase in household incomes for the first time since 2007, a year before the recession. The U.S. also saw the largest annual decrease in the poverty rate since 1999.

Median household income in the United States in 2015 was $56,516, an increase of 5.2 percent from 2014. The median household income increased in 39 states and the District of Columbia — the highest increase was Montana, with 6.8 percent. Maryland and D.C. have the highest median household incomes at $75,847 and $75,628, respectively. The lowest is Mississippi — at $40,593, it was statistically unchanged from 2014's rate.

No state saw a poverty rate increase, according to Census figures, and nearly half saw poverty rates decrease between 2014 and 2015. Poverty rates in 2015 ranged from a low of 8.2 percent in New Hampshire to a high of 22.0 percent in Mississippi, according to survey numbers.

Some of the highest poverty rates were found in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico. Some of the lowest poverty rates were found in Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Vermont.

Written by Greg Hambrick and Brian McCready, Patch National Staff

Image via Shutterstock.