Median incomes rise in the Natural State, still lag most of the nation

Arkansas had one of the four lowest median family incomes for 2016 at $44,334, according to U.S. Census Data reported Thursday (Sept. 14). The income metric rose 5.5% from the prior year but still lags the national level of $56,516 which increased 5.2% from 2015.

While incomes are rising across the state and unemployment remains low, there were 12.4% of families living below the federal poverty line of $24,250 for a family of four. Nearly one in four kids under age 18 in Arkansas was living below the poverty level in 2016, according to the Census data.

Michael Pakko, chief economist for the Arkansas Economic Development Institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said there weren’t any surprises in the new survey data. He said economies in the most populous areas of Arkansas are growing and have been since 2014. He said median incomes are rising in populated areas thanks in part to low unemployment rates and the new jobs added.

Pakko told Talk Business & Politics there is still a gap in median incomes from county to county and while the larger counties are growing, there are many rural areas where income is flat or declining. He said as the state’s median income rises that should improve poverty levels around the state, but given the ambiguity in how poverty is measured in Census Bureau surveys it is sometimes hard to detect.

“Some of the income those in poverty get such as housing subsidies don’t involve a cash transfer and can be missed in surveys,” Pakko explained.

He said while Arkansas’ median income level ranks near the bottom of the 50 states, the cost of living in Arkansas is roughly 10% lower than other states with higher median incomes. He said housing and service costs comprise the bulk of expenses for families and in areas of the country where rents and incomes are much higher, the poverty rate may be lower than Arkansas, but it takes less money to live here.

Local data for 2016 was available for 11 of the larger counties around the state which is analyzed below grouped in geographic regions.

NORTHWEST AND FORT SMITH METRO
Benton County grew the number of households in 2016 to 94,494, up 3% from the prior year. Median household income rose to $63,631, up 7.38%. Benton County’s median income level was the second highest in the state, but still 8.1% of families in the county were living below the poverty level. Children under 18 living in poverty declined to 11.3% in 2016, from 16.5% the year before.

Washington County added 5,785 new households for a total of 88,690 in 2016. The median household income declined 1.9% to $45,679 in 2016. One in 10 families were living below the poverty, about 1% less than in 2015. Roughly 17.4% of kids under age 18 were also living in poverty, compared to 21.9% the prior year.

Sebastian County reported 51,055 households in 2016, a gain of 852 from the prior year. Median household income rose to $42,053, up 3.63% from the prior year. About one in 10 families were living in poverty, roughy have the 20.6% poverty level reported in 2015. Sebastian County also made progress in reducing childhood poverty rates which fell to 20.6%, down from 35.7% in the year-over-year period.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Faulkner County saw the number of households and median income shrink in 2016. There were 43,964 households down from 44,011 the prior year. Median family income fell to $48,506, down 6% from $51,642 earned in 2015. At the same time families living in poverty rose to 13.1% from 8.6% in 2015. There were 19.1% of kids under 18 in the county living under the poverty level last year rising from 15,5% in the prior year.

Garland County also had fewer households in 2016 at 39,309, down from 40,134 the year before. Median household income rose to $42,826, up 14.8% from the prior year. The rise in overall household income helps to reduce the poverty rate to 11.5% for families. But the child poverty rate increased to 36.4% up from 26.7% in 2015. Garland County’s child poverty rate was the highest among the 10 counties listed.

Lonoke County kept its household number level at 26,327 in 2016, just 83 less than the prior year. Median family income fell to $55,837 in 2016, down 3.5% from the year before. There were 12.8% of families in the county living below the poverty level and 23.8% of kids under 18 also living in poverty. The poverty level increased from 2015 for families and kids by 4.1% and 8.1%, respectively.

Pulaski County, the largest in population, grew household size to 161,291, up 2.47% from 2015. The median household income also rose to $47,387, compared to $46,389 in 2015. Despite the higher median income there were more families living below the poverty level (23.8%) in 2016, compared to 15.7% the prior year. About 27% of kids in the county were living in poverty, down 3.6% from the prior year.

Saline County had the highest median income among those counties reporting. Median income rose to $64,932 during 2016, up 16.62% from the prior year. There were 43,371 households in the county last year, around 500 fewer than the previous year. The poverty rate was also the lowest among the counties in this report at 3.8% of families living below the poverty level, down from 6.8% the prior year. Ten percent of kids in the county live in poverty, down from 17.3% in 2015.

NORTHEAST ARKANSAS
Craighead County saw the number of households decrease in 2016 to 39,313, a loss of 613 family units from the prior year. Median income rose to $43,678, up 8.87% from the prior year. The number of families living in poverty was 11.5% last year, flat with the 2015. There were 18.6% of kids living in poverty and that was up from 17% in 2015.

White County also lost households during 2016. There were 28,221 households in the county last year, compared to 28,895 in 2015. Median household income rose to $42,844, up 8.5% from 2015. The county also saw the number living in poverty improve last year to 8.7% for families and 19% for kids. The prior year those poverty rates were 17.3% for families and 23% of kids under age 18.

PINE BLUFF AREA
Jefferson County located in the Pine Bluff metro area had 26,750 households in 2016, about 230 more than reported in 2015. Median household income rose to $37,712 last year, compared to $35,607 in 2015. The county made progress reducing its poverty rates which fell to 18.4% for families in 2016, down from 19.4% the year prior. Kids living in poverty also improved to 27.4% down from 43.5% in 2015.