LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Real median household income in the United States climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching 50,233 dollars, the third consecutive annual increase, according to statistics released on Tuesday.

    Across the United States, while more individuals were in poverty in 2007, the nation's poverty rate was statistically unchanged at 12.5 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau said in releasing new income and poverty statistics for the nation.

    Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance declined by about 1.3 million, to about 47 million people, the U.S. Census Bureau said .

    The main reason for the decline, Census officials said, was the growth in the number of people receiving health insurance through public plans.

    California had a higher average percentage of children without health insurance than the nation did over the past three years, according to the bureau.

    The Census Bureau said that women who work full time now earn 78 percent of the paychecks of men who work full-time, a significant gap but the smallest annual disparity ever recorded by the Census Bureau.

    In California, the gender earnings gap was even smaller, with women earning about 84 percent what men do. California women who work full-time rank sixth in annual earnings among the 50 states, while California men rank 16th.