Topeka ? Census figures released Thursday suggested that slightly more Kansans were living in poverty in recent years, while the percentage of residents without health insurance remained constant.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported three-year averages for each state for the percentage of people living in poverty, the percentage without health insurance and median household income. The figures are averages for 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The three-year average for Kansans living in poverty was 10.3 percent of the state’s residents, the Census Bureau said. While that was better than the national figure of 12.1 percent, it was higher than Kansas’ average for 2000-02, 9.4 percent.

Gary Brunk, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, said he wasn’t surprised, suggesting the change reflects economic problems that plagued Kansas and the nation in recent years. The state’s economy already had slowed in 2001 when the Sept. 11 attacks led to a loss of manufacturing jobs in aviation.

“Most poor families in the U.S. and in Kansas are families where the parents are working,” Brunk said. “In the foreseeable future, there will continue to be a heck of a lot of jobs that don’t adequately sustain a family.”

The definition of poverty depends in part on the household size. For a family of four, the threshold was a yearly income of $18,810.

Kansas ranked 21st among states for poverty.

As for Kansans who do not have health insurance, the three-year average was 10.9 percent, ranking the state 15th in the nation. The national figure was 15.1 percent.

Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said even that percentage for Kansas was too high because, “If you don’t have insurance, you probably aren’t getting adequate or appropriate health care.”