US median income falls for second year Median income dropped in 2011 even as the US economy was recovering from the recession, but the rates of Americans in poverty and lacking health insurance fell. According to annual data from the Census bureau, real median household income dropped by 1.5 per cent to $50,054 last year, demonstrating the average American families were still suffering financial stress from the crisis that hit in 2008 and 2009. It was the second consecutive drop in household income during President Barack Obama's term in office and could expose him to criticism from his rival Mitt Romney that his policies have not aided the middle class. But the poverty rate dropped slightly, from 15.1 per cent to 15 per cent, meaning that a smaller share of middle-class Americans were struggling so much that they had slid under the poverty threshold of about $22,000 in annual income for a family of four. Also, the Census bureau said that the number of people without health insurance cover declined from 50m in 2010 to 48.6m in 2011, along with the percentage of people lacking coverage which fell from 16.3 per cent in 2010 to 15.7 per cent in 2011. This will allow Mr Obama to show that the 2010 health reform is already starting to have an affect on the number of uninsured, even though many of the provisions have not kicked in yet. The fresh data on income, poverty and health insurance coverage - a critical gauge of the economic health of the middle class and poor families in America - comes as the race for the White House enters its final stretch. With little less than eight weeks to go before voters head to the polls in early November and the sluggish economy at the top of the agenda in many swing states, both Mr Obama and Mr Romney have attempted to demonstrate that they would be best candidate to deliver most relief to middle-class Americans. Mr Obama is championing higher taxes on the wealthy in order to protect government spending on programmes that aid the middle class as the best recipe for the country. But the census data highlights the depth of the pain inflicted on the middle class by the recession, which could hurt the president's efforts to campaign on his record. Mr Romney, a former private equity executive, has promised to use his business expertise to create a better environment for hiring and investment, mainly through lower taxes and lighter environment, that he claims would directly benefit middle class Americans. The annual census data can often become a critical reference in US political campaigns. Mr Obama and Democrats in Congress effectively used the stagnation of median household income during the administration of George W. Bush to target Republican economic policies during the congressional election of 2006 and the presidential election of 2008. After peaking at $53, 252 in 1999, real median household income declined to $51,174 in 2004, the low point in the decade, before bouncing back to $52, 823 in 2007 and then falling again during the recession and its aftermath.