Poverty rate 15%, median income $51,017 - Sep. 17, 2013

Poverty rate 15%, median income $51,017 - Sep. 17, 2013: Meanwhile, median household income fell slightly to $51,017 a year in 2012, down from $51,100 in 2011 -- a change the Census Bureau does not consider statistically significant.

5 years after the crisis: Main St. vs. Wall St.

A CNNMoney panel discusses income inequality in America and the role of the financial system.

But taking a wider view reveals a larger problem: Income has tumbled since the recession hit, and is still 8.3% below where it was in 2007.

"We've had [economic] growth, but it hasn't really reached everyday Americans," said Elise Gould, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. "It's a lost decade, maybe more."