A University of Washington researcher looking at new U.S. Census data today found that more than one in eight Americans were below the official poverty line, and poverty is growing slightly faster in the West than elsewhere in the country.

Jennifer Romich, an associate professor of social work at UW's West Coast Poverty Center, said that from 2007 to 2008 poverty in the 13 Western states rose from 12 percent to 13.5 percent, slightly higher than the 13.2 percent national figure.

"It was not a surprise because I think the West was slower to get hit by the most recent economic downturn," Romich said. "In Washington state, our economy didn't start to tank until the last quarter of 2008."

In the West, the percentage of people without health insurance rose from 16.9 percent in 2007 to 17.4 percent in 2008. Nationally, the statistic remained unchanged at 15.4 percent uninsured.

Yet real median income in the West declined less -- 2 percent to $55,085, compared with a nationwide decline of 3.6 percent.

The way the Census Bureau measures poverty is the same across the lower 48 states -- a family of four living on less than $22,000 a year is under the poverty line. That may actually understate the economic distress that poorer people are feeling in places like Seattle, where the cost of living is much higher than in the Midwest or South, for example.

"If you make $25,000 and have a family of four people in Seattle, you are not officially poor," Romich said. "But functionally if you are trying to find housing in this market it's going to be very difficult."

Romich analyzed data from "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008." She said she expects the trends to continue next year. The full report can be found here.