2015 was a strong year for income growth, and the West led the country

(Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

staff photo

Household incomes increased significantly in 2015, representing the first growth in median family wages since 2007, the Census Bureau reports.

In all, the median family income was 5.2 percent higher in 2015 than in 2014. That number was even higher in the West, a region that includes Colorado, where median income growth was 6.4 percent.

The median family income in the West is now $61,442. That means the region is drawing closer to the median income of the Northeast, $62,182, which is still the highest in the nation.

The West also includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

The slowest wage growth was in the South, which saw a 2.9 percent increase.

We should have state and local level estimates on income when a separate report is published on Thursday.

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