The survey report, covering 2005-07, was issued before Christmas. It represents the latest “slice-of-life” data set available for U.S. geographic areas from the Census Bureau.
The Bell County median was about $52,000, while the state median was about $54,000.
About 80,000 households reported earnings in the survey. That’s about 80 percent of the total households.
In Temple, the median family income, $51,000, is slightly lower than the county, so it’s also slightly below the state median.
Median household income is lower across the board. In Temple, the median is $42,000.
But Temple per capita income is a little higher than the county median - about $1,000 higher.
New data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that average wages grew in Bell County from 2007 to 2008. The average weekly wage grew 5 percent to $674, the BLS said. The number of people employed also grew by about 2.6 percent.
Other economic indicators for Bell are also tracking upward, an indication that the national economic slide has not yet had a complete impact in Central Texas.
However, Ken Higdon, president and CEO of the Temple Chamber of Commerce, said he fears the national economy has not yet hit bottom, and if that’s the case it still has time to take a slap at this region.
Carroll Wilson
