In 2012, the median household income was $51,017, just a smidgen higher than it was in 2011, and 6 percent lower than in 2007, according to recently released poverty and income data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In fact median income is closer to what it was in 1995. It’s the poorest who are feeling the pinch the most -- median income for the bottom 20 percent fell 10 percent since 2007. For the wealthiest 5 percent, median income has already bounced back to 2007 levels.

The change in median income for different income groups is even more dramatic when compared to what it was 45 years ago.

Median income for the poorest 20 percent increased by only 19 percent over that time span, whereas income for the top 5 percent increased by 89 percent, nearly doubling.

Here’s income inequality in the U.S., expressed in yet another series of charts:

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Changes in median household income in the U.S., since 1967. IBTimes/Lisa Mahapatra