Due to improved collection methodology, income and earnings data from the 2006 Census is more complete, precise and less subject to rounding than in prior censuses. Small dollar amounts, which in the past may not have been reported, are now more likely to be captured. Compared to prior censuses, this has resulted in an increased number of earners and lower median and average earnings. Users are advised to exercise caution when interpreting census-to-census changes in statistics and counts of specific cells within an earnings distribution. This comparability issue is less apparent when considering the earnings of full-year, full-time workers. Area suppression is the deletion of all characteristic data for geographic areas with populations below a specified size. Income distributions and related statistics are suppressed if the population in the area, excluding institutional residents, is less than 250 from either the 100% or the 20% database, or if the number of private households is less than 40 from the 20% database. Income, after-tax income and earnings distributions have been suppressed where the estimated total number of units (persons, families or households) in the reference year is less than 250. All suppressed cells and associated averages, medians and standard errors of average income, average after-tax income or average earnings have been replaced with zeroes or symbols. Statistics have been suppressed if the estimated total number of persons (males, females or both sexes) with income, after-tax income or earnings in the reference year is less than 250 persons. All suppressed counts and associated averages and medians have been replaced by zeroes or symbols.