Last Tuesday, the US Census Bureau released their annual report on poverty. The report gives data on poverty rates by selected characteristics -- age, race, nativity, family composition, work experience, and geography. Findings reveal that the nation's poverty rate dropped from 12.7 percent in 1998 to 11.8 percent in 1999, the lowest rate since 1979. In addition, "real median household income reached $40,816, the highest level ever recorded by the Census Bureau." The report also announces the lowest level of child poverty since 1979 -- 16.9 percent -- and a record low for African-Americans of 23.6 percent. The report can be examined in full in .pdf format or in selected sections in HTML.