Census report shows drop in household income

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI — Households in South Mississippi are continuing to earn less. That’s according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Elaine G. Wilkinson, executive director of the Gulf Regional Planning Commission, tells the Sun Herald it isn’t surprising to families living from paycheck to paycheck.

According to the 2011 American Community Survey, the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area shows a 10.69 percent decrease in the median household income, from $42,927 in 2010 to $38,287 in 2011.

That’s a drop from $45,134 in 2009 and $47,568 in 2008.

In the Pascagoula area, households showed a slight increase of 1.5 percent, from $46,167 in 2010 to $46,864 in 2011.