Utah poverty level flat, income rises

The effect of the recession in Utah, at least in 2008, was maybe a bit different than expected.

It did not create more poverty in Utah. The median family income even managed to go up 4.5 percent. But food stamp usage appears to have really shot up. And times appeared to be far tougher for minorities than whites.

That's according to new survey data released today by the Census Bureau. The poverty data, family income and food stamp numbers had been delayed by technical problems when the census earlier this month released other data from its huge annual American Community Survey.

The full wave of the recession isn't reflected in the data, given that the financial meltdown on Wall Street that led to the banking collapse was just beginning a year ago this month.

Census data show that poverty in Utah in 2008 stayed about the same as it was in 2007, with an estimated 9.6 percent of Utahns living in poverty, It reported 9.7 percent in 2007.

That is about a quarter lower than the national poverty rate of 13.2 percent. Utah's poverty rate ranked a low 43rd among the 50 states and District of Columbia.

The median family income in Utah ranked 20th among the states at $65,226. That was up about 4.5 percent from 2007, when it was $63,438.

Utah often does well in income for overall families or households because it has the nation's largest families, and such measures include income from older teenagers and others who work. Utah tends to score low, however, in per-person earnings.

The notable difference in the data is a startling jump in the use of food stamps, with 5.6 percent of Utahns reporting they had relied on the government-assistance program at some point during the previous year.

That was up from 4.9 percent who reported receiving such aid in 2007. However, the Census Bureau cautions against comparing the numbers too closely because it changed the wording of its question on that topic, which may have caused some of the higher numbers.

Utah ranked a low No. 42 among the states for usage of food stamps. Nationally, 8.6 percent of Americans received food stamps, about 50 percent higher than Utah's rate.

Of course, many Utahns receive food assistance from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints instead of using the federal aid, and area food banks run by other civic organizations have reported steady and record increases in demand the past year.