15 Percent of Americans Living in Poverty

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Years after the Great Recession ended, 46.5 million Americans are still living in poverty, according to a Census Bureau report released Tuesday.

Meanwhile, median household income fell slightly to $51,017 a year, down from $51,100 in 2011 -- a change the Census Bureau does not consider statistically significant.

Income has tumbled since the recession hit, and is still 8.3% below where it was in 2007. Americans were the richest in 1999, when median household income was $56,080, adjusted for inflation.

This long-term decline in income is troubling to economists, especially as the middle and lower classes have fared considerably worse than the rich. Since 1967, Americans right in the middle of the income curve have seen their earnings rise 19%, while those in the top 5% have seen a 67% gain. Rising inequality is seldom a sign of good social stability.

Who is earning less: Young people continued to struggle last year, with those under the age of 35 seeing slight drops in income while those 35 and made some gains.

Women made 77% of what men made, unchanged from the year before but up from 61% in 1960. Over one million men found full time work last year, as the economy recovered. Some have dubbed the most recent recession the "mancession," as large numbers of men have left the workforce.

Asians had the highest household income ($68,600), followed by whites ($57,000), Hispanics ($39,000) and blacks ($33,300).

How the poorest are faring: The recession also pushed many more people into poverty. In 2010, the poverty rate peaked at 15.1%, and has barely fallen since then. This is the first time the poverty rate has remained at or above 15% three years running since 1965.

Those making $23,492 a year for a family of four, or $11,720 for an individual were considered to be living in poverty.

While the ranks of the poor are still elevated from the recession, overall poverty is remains far below the 22.4% it was at in 1959 when the Census first began tracking the data. Over the last 25 years, the poverty rate has averaged just over 13%.

The official poverty rate reported Tuesday does not include things like medical and work expenses, and is not adjusted for regional differences in housing costs.

The Census Bureau puts out another poverty index later this year that takes those things into account and is considered a more accurate measure. Last year, that separate measure put the poverty rate at 16.1%.