Youngstown may have the lowest median income in the country

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown has the dubious distinction of having one of, if not the, lowest median household incomes among mid-sized cities in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The estimates for 2006, released Tuesday by the bureau, lists Youngstown with the lowest median income in the nation among cities with populations between 65,000 and 249,999. The city’s median income is $21,850, according to census data.

But the estimates come with very large margins of error. For example, Youngstown’s margin of error is $2,058, or 9.4 percent.

Based on margins of error, Youngstown could be seventh on the list.

The 2005 report had Youngstown’s median income at $26,516, with a margin of error of about $4,500, said Ed Welniak, chief of the bureau’s income surveys branch. That wasn’t good enough for the 2005 top 10, but it was close, he said.

Welniak said the bureau doesn’t have an explanation for Youngstown’s huge drop in median income from 2005 to 2006.

For more, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com