NC
Strategic Scorecard |
1.1.1 Family
Income |
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Target: At
least 100% of US average
median household income
Actual: 87.2%
of US average
US
Rank 2004: 40th (down
from 33rd in 1995)
SE
Rank 2004: 5th (down
from 3rd in 1995)
SE
Region: AL
FL GA KY MS NC SC TN VA WV Updated
3/15/06
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Primary Performance Indicator
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Median
Household Income
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Performance
Trend:
The
trend depicts the degree to which actual
performance has approached the target in
recent years. |
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Comments
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After
rising gradually through the 1990s,
NC's median household income leveled off from 2000
to 2003 and began to rise again in 2004. |
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Since
reaching 97% of the national average in 1997, NC's
median household income fell to less than 88% of the
national average in 2003 and 2004. |
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From
1997 to 2004, NC's competitive ranking fell from
26th to 40th in the US and 2nd to 5th in the SE region. |
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Definition
(What Is Being Measured)
Three-year
average of median household income where household
income includes the income of the householder
and all other persons 15 years old and over in
the household.
Source: US
Bureau of Census, American Community Survey, Median Income
of Households by State;
rankings from Morgan Quitno. |
Relevance
(Why This Is Important)
The
economic means to maintain a reasonable standard of living, as
reflected by median household income, contributes significantly
to family health; conversely, poverty can have profound long-term
social costs, including destablized families, poor health, increased
public dependency and higher crime. |
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| Other
Highlights |
| North
Carolina |
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North
Carolina's relative decline in median household income
rankings has been the result of several factors, including
many beyond the state’s direct control (and the reach
of state public policies), such as immigration trends,
global competition, federal trade policies and the collapse
of our traditional manufacturing industries. |
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Southeast Region |
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In
2003, pay in the South did not keep pace with the cost
of living (Source: US Census Bureau). |
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| National |
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In 2003, median family
income rose at about the inflation rate, but income disparity
between the rich and poor grew. The highest-earning quintile
of households earned 49.7% of the nation's income, up from
49.7% in 2002 and 44.7% in 1983. |
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| Global |
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Goal
1.1: Foster
financial self-reliance |
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