Household Income Creeps Up In Ocean County, New Census Data Shows

Median household earnings in Ocean County inched up over the past year, according to annual census data made public Thursday.

According to that data, median household income in Ocean County rose by slightly more than $100, from $63,653 in 2014 to $63,765 in 2015.

In New Jersey, that number crept up as well, rising slightly more than $300 to $72,222 last year, compared with $71,919 in 2014.

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.

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.

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. New Jersey had one of the lowest poverty rates, along with Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

"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."

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