Colorado households are making significantly less money than they did a decade ago, pushing up the poverty rate and delaying marriages.

On the positive side, more Coloradans have completed high school and college to stay competitive in a tough economy, according to an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey by I-News, the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network.

Median household income in Colorado fell an inflation-adjusted 13 percent between 1999 and 2010, according to the analysis.

Even though the state’s economy grew last year, household incomes didn’t. They were down 2.5 percent in 2010 from 2009.

The survey reports a 2010 median household income in Colorado of $54,046, compared with a 1999 median household income, adjusted to 2010 dollars, of $61,767 and 2009 household income of $55,430.

“That probably reflects two-earner households where one person got laid off or went part time,” said Broomfield economist Gary Horvath.

Also, much lower interest rates have cut the income of many retirees, Horvath said.

Among the state’s most populated counties, Douglas County had the highest median household income last year at $94,909, while Pueblo County had the lowest at $38,326.

Two recessions in the past 10 years have held back income gains and pushed more people into poverty.

Colorado’s poverty rate rose from 9.3 percent in 2000 to 13.4 percent in 2010. Nationally, the poverty rate stands at 15.1 percent.

Westminster, Longmont and Aurora suffered the biggest jumps in poverty rates among the state’s larger cities.

Some other findings from the census survey:

• The percentage of married Coloradans declined from 57 percent of the population over age 15 in 2000 to 51 percent in 2010. From 2009 to 2010, the percentage of married Coloradans fell slightly, with a corresponding increase in the percentage of residents 15 years and older who were divorced.

• About 15.9 percent of all residents lacked health insurance coverage in 2010, compared with 16.7 percent in 2008.

• Among Colorado adults, 89.7 percent had graduated from high school and 36.4 percent had completed college in 2010 versus 86.9 percent and 32.7 percent, respectively, in 2000.

Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aldosvaldi