Idaho snaps three-year slide in household income

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — New census estimates show a 5 percent increase in median household income across Idaho last year. The new figures released this week snap a three-year slide that produced in the state one of the worst recession-era losses in household income nationally. Estimates put 2012 median household income at $45,489, meaning half the state’s 580,000 households had higher incomes while half fell below that mark. The Idaho Department of Labor reports that Idaho’s growth rate ranked third nationally. Yet Idaho’s actual household income rate only ranked 37th nationally. New census estimates also show Idaho’s poverty rate has declined for adults, but inched up for children from 2011 levels. For adults, the poverty rate dropped from 15 percent to 14.1 percent, but went up from 18 percent to 20.4 percent for children.