Real median household income remained stagnant in 2004 for the second consecutive year, while the rate of poverty in the United States rose from 12.5 percent to 12.7 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

In its annual population survey report, the Census Bureau said the percentage of the nation's population without health insurance remained unchanged at 15.7 percent in 2004, but the percentage of people with employment-based health insurance declined.

The Census Bureau said median household income was $44,389 in 2004. For black households, it was $30,134. For Hispanic households, median income was $34,241. For Asian households, median income was $57,518. For non-Hispanic white households, it was $48,977.

Real median earnings of men age 15 and older who worked full-time, year-round declined 2.3 percent over the year to $40,798. Earnings for women with similar work experience declined 1.0 percent to $31,223. The ratio of female-to-male earnings for full-time, year-round workers was 77 cents on the dollar–up from 76 cents in 2003.

In regional analysis, real median household income remained unchanged in 2004 in the Northeast at $47,994; in the West at $47,680, and the South at $40,773. Income declined 2.8 percent to $44,657 in the Midwest.

The Census Bureau said there were 37.0 million people in poverty in 2004–up from 35.9 million in 2003. There were 7.9 million families in poverty in 2004, up from 7.6 million in 2003. The poverty rate for families remained unchanged at 10.2 percent.

In 2004, 17.8 percent or 13.0 million children under the age of 18 lived in poverty.

The poverty rate declined for Asians–9.8 percent in 2004–compared with 11.8 percent in 2003. The poverty rate remained unchanged for Hispanics at 21.9 percent and blacks at 24.7 percent. The poverty rate rose for non-Hispanic whites from 8.2 percent in 2003 to 8.6 percent in 2004.

The Census Bureau said the number of people with health insurance rose in 2004 by 2.0 million to 245.3 million. The number of people without health insurance increased by 800,000 to 45.8 million.

The percentage of people covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 60.4 percent in 2003 to 59.8 percent in 2004, the Census Bureau said.

The number of people covered by government health insurance programs rose from 26.6 percent in 2003 to 27.2 percent in 2004. The report said the increase was driven by increases in the percentage of people with Medicaid coverage for low-income Americans, which rose from 12.4 percent in 2003 to 12.9 percent in 2004.

The Census Bureau said the percentage and number of children without health insurance coverage remained unchanged in 2004 at 11.2 percent and 8.3 million, respectively.