By Alabama Public Radio
Washington, D.C. – New U-S Census Bureau figures say that more than 15 percent of Alabama's residents are living in poverty. The report also says the state's household income remains among the lowest in the country. But the latest numbers do show that Alabama has a smaller percentage of residents without health insurance than the national average. The state's 15 percent poverty level is the eighth highest in the country and an increase over the previous report. The national poverty rate was 12 percent. The median household income was just more than 37-thousand dollars. That's eighth lowest in the country and well below the national rate of almost 44-thousand. Meanwhile...only about 13-point percent of Alabamians have no health insurance, compared to about 15 percent nationwide.