Connecticut residents are no longer the nation’s highest earners, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Connecticut’s median household income of $50,647 comes in behind Alaska, Maryland and New Jersey. The median household income for the United States is $42,148.

The recent census reports do not include capital gains income, a large source of income for high wage earners. As a result, there is a possibility that Connecticut could have been misrepresented statistically.

The statistics released by the bureau also showed a poverty level of 7.6 percent in Connecticut.

The state is also experiencing all-time poverty lows of 22.1 percent, 21.2 percent, 7.5 percent and 10.8 percent for blacks, Hispanics, non-Hispanic whites, and Asian and Pacific Islanders respectively.

But, with a federal poverty threshold of $17,603 per household, a number well below what many would consider the actual poverty line, many poor families may be included statistically with the middle class.

In addition, the long-term effects of the recent economic downturn on these statistics are difficult to predict.

— K.C. Osuji