Wyoming’s poverty rate fell in 2013. That’s according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The national poverty rate remained around 16%, while Wyoming’s rate fell from 12.5% to about 11%.
Wyoming’s median income also climbed by over 5% during that period. State economist Wenlin Liu says that dramatic rise is due to a recovery in natural resource prices, which had fallen in 2012.
“Ever since April 2012 natural gas prices has been gradually recovering. The other thing is that oil drilling continues to expand.”Liu cautions that Wyoming’s small population makes it more prone to sampling errors. Wyoming’s unemployment rate also dropped 1.5% percent in 2013 from the previous year.