Ashdown said despite the recession, Utah has maintained a household income above the nation's and he expects the state's income level to rise this year as the economy improves.

In 2003, the state's median household income was $46,873, virtually unchanged from the previous year, according to the census. The national median household income was $43,818.

"We are actually expecting to see probably about a 2 percent job growth range this year," he said. "It's been relatively flat the last three years. This is the first year we've actually seen a significant improvement in local economy."

At $54,210, Davis County had the highest median household income of the state's three counties large enough to be included in the survey. Davis also had the lowest poverty rate — 2 percent.

Barry Burton, assistant of community and economic development for Davis County, said the low poverty rate could be attributed to the newer housing stock in the county, which has been adjusting from rural to urban over the last 25 years.

"There are not as many places for people at poverty to live," he said. "We've been making the transition out of rural to urbanized over the last 25 years."

Transportation and quality of life issues are a challenge in Davis County. Transportation is also a key issue in Utah County, where the population has grown by 57 percent since 1990 and vehicle miles driven have grown by about 100 percent, said Shawn Eliot, transportation planner for Mountainland Association of Governments.

Meanwhile, Eliot said new highway construction, or lane miles, have grown by less than 2 percent.

"Things are looking pretty bleak," he said of the transportation picture.

The American Community Survey, which will eventually replace the decennial census long form, includes data on national, state, city and county level for areas with a population above 250,000. It will eventually include information on areas down the track level.

The ACS was released at the same time as the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. That survey of about 100,000 households asks a series of questions about more than 50 sources of income, while the ACS includes a series of eight questions on income. Because of its smaller sample size, the CPS only includes national and state data.

Ashdown said the ACS shows a slight decline in Utah's median household income, while the CPS shows a slight increase in the same number. However, he said no matter how you look at those figures, they've "stayed relatively flat."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com