Household incomes in the Sacramento region rose slightly from 2006 to 2007 while the area's poverty rate stayed flat, according to a census report released Tuesday.
However, those gains were likely erased by the economic downturn that kicked in hard this year, said Howard Roth, the state's chief economist.
"2008 is probably not going to be a good year," Roth said, predicting the outcome of the next census report.
The median household income in Yolo, El Dorado, Placer and Sacramento counties was $59,694 during 2007, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. That's up about $1,000, or 2 percent, from 2006's inflation-adjusted figure for the area.
The poverty rate for the area remained at 11.1 percent from 2006 to 2007. That was below the state rate of 12.4 percent.
Statewide, the median household income rose about $1,000 to $59,948 after adjusting for inflation. The national median household income reflected a similar small increase, rising to $50,740.
Longer term, Sacramento residents aren't much better off than they were at the beginning of the decade. After adjusting for inflation, the typical local household earned about 4 percent more last year than it did during 1999, census figures show. Roth partially blamed that slow growth on outsourcing of jobs.
"We are losing middle- income kinds of jobs, especially in manufacturing," he said.
Though just released, the census numbers are a little out of date. Since 2007, the local unemployment rate has shot to its highest level in years. And inflation, driven largely by gas and food prices, has also jumped.
Steve Herara, a 20-year Sacramento resident, said Tuesday that he's worse off today than he was in 2006. Back then, he had a job as a bill collector. But he lost it, and now he's been out of work for more than a year.
It's not easy to find a job these days when you are approaching retirement age, he said.
"It's the worst I've seen it," said Herara, 53. "Things are getting bad. Things are getting expensive."
Domonique Garrett, a 26-year-old student at Sacramento City College, is also struggling. She's looking for a job to help pay the bills while going to school, but isn't having much luck.
Meanwhile, she's raising two children, ages 1 and 3.
"I'm living with a roommate with her two kids," said Garrett. Eight people share her four-bedroom apartment.
Garrett plans to graduate in 2010 with a degree in early childhood education. "I hope it gets better," she said.
Call The Bee's Phillip Reese, (916) 321-1137.
