Lifestyle changes deep, long-term

USA Today reports:

The nation's financial crisis is altering Americans' way of life from the home and the workplace to the highway and the altar, according to 2009 Census data released Tuesday.

Median household income — the level where half make more and half make less — fell 2.9% from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 last year, the second consecutive annual drop, according to the American Community Survey, far-reaching demographic data separate from the 2010 Census.

"The recession has affected every aspect of American life," says Mark Mather, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau. "It doesn't matter if you're lower income or higher income, highly educated or just have a high school degree."