New Census data says we're poorer, but more likely to be insured

Median household incomes declined and poverty stayed pretty much the same in 2011 as in 2010, but more Americans are covered by health insurance, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Among the findings of the agency:

-- Median household income declined 1.5%, from $50,831 in 2010 to $50,054 last year.

-- Median household income in the Northeast, which is the highest in the nation, also declined -- from $54,667 to $53,864.

-- While 50 million Americans lacked health insurance in 2010, that number declined to 48.6 million last year. 84.3% of all Americans now have health insurance, although only 63.9% of us are covered by private plans.

-- The percentage of people covered by Medicare increased from 14.6% to 15.2% and the percentage of Americans covered by Medicaid increased from 15.8% to 16.5%.

-- The median earnings of women who worked full time, year-round ($37,118) was 77% of that for their male peers ($48,202). While the median income for both groups declined about 2.5% from the year before, the rates of decline were not statistically different.

-- 6.2% of married-couple families, 31.2% of female-headed families and 16.1% of male-headed families lived in poverty, which was not significantly different from 2010.