Random Samplings

Census Bureau Announces Schedule for Population Estimates Releases

Written by: Victoria Velkoff

The 2010 Census counted 3 million residents of Orange County, Calif. How quickly has the home of Disneyland grown since? You will find out a little later this year, as the Census Bureau releases several sets of population estimates pertaining to July 1, 2011.

The Census Bureau releases population estimates every year, except during decennial census years. These estimates measure population change since the latest census using administrative records and survey data and are used heavily by local planners.

The release of these various sets of estimates will occur on a flow basis starting April 5, with estimates of the total population for counties, Puerto Rico municipios, and metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and continuing through June 28 with estimates of the total population for cities, towns and other subcounty areas. In between, we will publish U.S., state, and county estimates by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, as well as estimates of housing units for the nation, states and counties.

Two sets of estimates have already been released — those for the total population for the nation and states (in December) and the voting-age population of states (Jan. 5). To access these estimates... 

For more information on the methodology used to produce the population estimates, Population Estimates Methodology...

Read the press release...

Census.gov Transformation - Pardon Our Dust

Stephen Buckner, Center for New Media and Promotions, U.S. Census Bureau

The U.S. Census Bureau has launched a newly redesigned census.gov homepage.

 This is the first of several steps in a progressive series of enhancements to census.gov over the next year to make our content more accessible, useful, comprehensible and interesting to the broadest possible audience.  Our goal is to make it easier for visitors to reach their desired destination, increase user satisfaction, and expand the public’s understanding of how the Census Bureau measures America’s people, places and economy. 

Some of the new features and tools users will experience are:

• A prominent dashboard featuring our economic indicators
• A top dropdown menu for quick navigation to key topics
• A new interactive map showing a mash up of economic and demographic statistics
• A “Stat of the Day” highlighting Census Bureau statistics across all the data we collect
• A “mega footer” with links categorized under familiar topics and highly trafficked pages
• A feature for users to provide feedback
• More prominent placement of our latest releases

We hope the public will gain greater accessibility to our statistics through both their desktops and mobile devices.   Also, users will eventually see improved search and navigation, thematic pages and additional features. 

If you have any comments, please click on the “Tell us what you think” section on the homepage.

 

 

 

First Population Estimates Since 2010 Census are Released

Written by: Alexa Jones-Puthoff

It probably seems like just yesterday that you filled out and mailed back your 2010 Census form. But it has already been well over a year, and in that time, our society has hardly remained static.

Today, the Census Bureau released its first set of population estimates since the initial release of census results a year ago. These numbers estimate the total population of each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as of July 1, 2011, and measure how much the population has increased or decreased in these jurisdictions since the 2010 Census. A combination of administrative records — including birth and death records and tax returns from the IRS — and survey data are utilized to arrive at these figures.

According to the results, Texas has gained more people since the census than any other state, adding more than a half million people. California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina followed. Altogether, these five states accounted for slightly more than half the nation’s total population growth.

Nationally, the U.S. population growth of 0.92 percent between the census and July 1, 2011, marked its lowest since the mid-1940s.

The fastest-growing state or equivalent since the census was the District of Columbia, whose population rose 2.7 percent. This marks the first time the District of Columbia led states and equivalents in growth since the early 1940s.

The list of fastest-growing states and equivalents includes some states that in recent years have not been there. One state that falls into this category is North Dakota, which ranked 37th in population growth between censuses, but sixth since the 2010 census. Other fast-growing states, such as Texas, Utah, Alaska and Colorado, were no strangers on the list.

California, with 37.7 million residents, remains our most populous state. Wyoming remains the least populous state, with 568,000 residents.

To see the complete list of the fastest-growing states and those with the largest numerical increase, as well as other highlights from the state population estimates, read the press release.

$35 billion owed in child support payments

Written by: Tim Grall

During a time when the number of people living in poverty reached its largest recorded number in 51 years, 28.3 percent of custodial parents found themselves below the poverty level. For many families, the income from child support is critical in order to care for their dependent children.

According to the 2009 report, Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support, child support represented 62.6 percent of the average income for custodial parents below poverty who received full support, compared with 20.8 percent for all custodial parents. In 2009, 49.5 percent of custodial parents worked year-round full time, a decline from the 2007 figure of 53.6 percent. The percentage who participated in at least one public assistance program rose from 31.5 percent in 2007 to 37.7 percent in 2009.

The report focuses on the child support income that the nation’s 13.7 million custodial parents reported receiving, and other types of support such as health insurance and noncash assistance. The average amount of child support received by custodial parents who were owed support payments in 2009 was $3,630, or about $300 per month. More than half (60.3 percent) of custodial parents received some type of noncash support from noncustodial parents on behalf of their children. The most common type of noncash support was gifts for birthdays, holidays or other occasions, followed by clothes, and by food or groceries. Custodial fathers were more likely than custodial mothers to receive this type of assistance (70.4 percent compared with 58.1 percent).

This report is one of several related to children and families released recently by the Census Bureau, including America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2011, Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers: 1961-2008 and Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2010. The data come from the Child Support Supplement to the April 2010 Current Population Survey.  This supplement is sponsored, in part, by the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Read the press release...

 

A Slow Economy Can Increase Child Care Provided by Fathers

Written by: Lynda Laughlin

Changes in the use of father-provider child care is often related to changes in the family and the economy. The recent recession was particularly difficult for men. Men had higher jobless rates than women because of steep losses in the manufacturing and construction industries. The more time fathers have available to care for children, the more likely they are to do so.

New data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation indicates that in the spring of 2010, a third of fathers with an employed wife provided a regular source of care for their preschoolers. This is an increase from 29 percent in 2005, when the economy was relativity stronger. 

A father’s involvement in child care tends to be shaped by his employment characteristics. For example, a father’s employment status can determine whether he provides child care while his wife is working. Among married fathers with preschoolers in 2010, a greater percentage of fathers who were not employed cared for their young children than did employed fathers (54 percent compared with 17 percent).

The amount and shift that a father works can often determine his ability to take care of children. Married fathers who work part time are much more likely to be a primary child care provider than are fathers who work full time — 34 percent of fathers compared with 16 percent. The time of day a father works is also an important factor. Married fathers who worked evening or night shifts were twice as likely to be the primary child care provider during the mothers’ work hours than fathers who worked day shifts (28 percent and 14 percent, respectively).

Read the press release...

More Families Receive Assistance During a Time of Recession

Written by: Shelley Irving

To help cope with challenging economic times, more people have turned to financial assistance programs.  One such assistance program is TANF, which refers to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, the program that replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children in 1997, significantly altering the nation’s welfare program.

The Census Bureau reported today that more families received TANF benefits  in 2009 than did in 2006.  The TANF participation rate for all families with children increased from 3.8 percent in 2006 to 4.8 percent in 2009, according to a new Census Bureau report based on the Survey of Income and Program Participation.  Married-couple families, who have the lowest overall rates of TANF participation, saw an increase in their participation rate from 2006 to 2009. 

The report, Comparing Program Participation of TANF and non-TANF Families Before and During a Time of Recession, examines whether participation in TANF and other programs such as WIC and Medicaid increased and employment decreased because of the economic recession.

The report shows that the recent economic recession affected American families with children and that the impact was not just limited to TANF families or poor families. For example, poor non-TANF and other non-TANF families became more likely to receive energy assistance, food Stamps/SNAP, and clothing assistance from 2006 to 2009.  Nonetheless, TANF families remain more likely than non-TANF families to receive assistance from these other assistance programs.

Increases in program participation coincided with decreases in employment.  In 2006, 24.8 percent of poor non-TANF families and 82.4 percent of other non-TANF families had full-time employment in all of the past 12 months, compared with 17.2 percent and 76.0 percent, respectively, in 2009.  TANF families, poor non-TANF families, and other non-TANF families were more likely to have unemployment in one or more of the past 12 months in 2009 than in 2006. 

From 2006 to 2009, participation in programs to help find work and job skills programs increased for both TANF and non-TANF families. For example, from 2006 to 2009, participation in programs to help find work increased from 11.5 percent to 25.0 percent for TANF families, from 3.0 percent to 7.4 percent for poor non-TANF families, and from 0.8 percent to 2.1 percent for other non-TANF families.

To learn more about program participation of TANF and non-TANF families during the recession, view the report.

Majority of the Black Population Lived in the South

Written by: Sonya Rastogi, Tallese D. Johnson, Elizabeth M. Hoeffel and Malcolm P. Drewery, Jr.

The Black population was highly concentrated in counties in the South.  In 106 counties, the Black alone-or-in-combination population represented 50 percent or more of the total county population.  All of these counties were located in the South except for the city of St. Louis, MO, which is considered a county equivalent. These patterns were similar for the Black alone population.

Concentrations of Blacks outside of the South tended to be in counties located within metropolitan statistical areas.  There were 317 counties where the Black alone-or-in-combination population was 25.0 percent to 49.9 percent of the county population, and only 17 of these counties were not in the South.  Of these 17 counties, 15 were in metro areas.  This pattern was similar for the Black alone population.

Although the Black alone-or-in-combination population and the Black alone population were not as concentrated in counties in midwestern states, in some metro areas, such as around Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI, the proportion Black was much higher than the national average of 13 percent.  Also, in some metro areas in the West, such as around San Francisco, CA and Sacramento, CA, the proportion Black was above the national average.    

The Black population in the South experienced mixed growth – some counties experienced an increase, while others experienced a decline.  Among the 1,558 counties with a Black alone-or-in-combination population over 1,000 people, over one-third (536 counties) had an increase of 25 percent or more from 2000 to 2010.  On the other hand, 100 counties had a decrease of over 10 percent.  The Black alone-or-in-combination population in counties located in northeastern states such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania grew significantly, as well as counties in the South, specifically Florida, which had a number of counties that grew by 25 percent or more. 

Large growth in the Black alone-or-in-combination population also occurred in the West and sections of the Midwest.  Counties in Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington grew substantially between 2000 and 2010.  The Midwest had pockets of high growth in states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

The Black alone-or-in-combination population in the South experienced the largest percentage decline between 2000 and 2010.  Counties located in the southern states such as Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia experienced greater declines in the Black alone-or-in-combination population compared with the rest of the nation.  The Black alone population had similar results.

Black and White Multiple-Race Population More Than Doubled

People who reported their race as both Black and White more than doubled from about 785,000 in 2000 to 1.8 million in 2010. This group’s share of the multiple-race Black population increased from 45 percent in 2000 to 59 percent in 2010.

For more information on the Black population, see the 2010 Census Brief, The Black Population: 2010.

2010 Census Shows the White Population Has Become More Diverse

Written by: Lindsay Hixson, Bradford B. Hepler and Myoung Ouk Kim

The largest race group in the United States – the White population – has become more diverse over the past decade as evidenced by the growth of Hispanics identifying as White and the growth of Whites identifying with multiple races.

Hispanics Comprised Three-Fourths of the Growth of the White Population

The White alone-or-in-combination population increased by 7 percent, from 216.9 million in 2000 to 231.0 million in 2010.  Most of this growth was a result of the increase in the White Hispanic population, which grew by 56 percent between 2000 and 2010.  Of the 231.0 million White alone-or-in-combination population in the 2010 Census, 29.2 million or 13 percent reported they were Hispanic, up from 9 percent in 2000. 

Whites who reported one race and identified as Hispanic accounted for 70 percent of the growth of the White alone-or-in-combination population.  Multiple-race Whites who identified as Hispanic accounted for another 4 percent of the growth of the White alone-or-in-combination population.  Thus, Hispanics accounted for about three-fourths of the increase in the White alone-or-in-combination population.

On the other hand, non-Hispanic single-race Whites contributed to only 16 percent of the growth of the White alone-or-in-combination population from 2000 to 2010. Non-Hispanic multiple-race Whites accounted for the remaining 10 percent of the growth.

White Multiple-Race Reporting Increased by 37 Percent

The multiple-race White population increased by 2 million, an increase of 37 percent in the last decade.  The majority of the increase of the multiple-race White population was driven by the growth of two race combinations.  Over half of this growth was attributed to White and Black, and over one-third was due to White and Asian.  The White and Black population grew by 134 percent or over 1 million people.  The White and Asian population increased by 87 percent or more than 750,000 people over the decade. 

For more information on the White population, see the 2010 Census Brief, The White Population: 2010.

What About the 90+?

Written by: Wan He, Mark Muenchrath, Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Is your grandmother or great-grandmother 90 or older, widowed, living in a nursing home, and experiencing one or more disabilities? If so, she is not alone. In 2006-2008, there were 1.3 million women age 90 and older in the United States, representing three-fourths of the total 90-and-older population. Among the 90-plus women, eight out of 10 were widowed, four out of 10 lived alone, a quarter lived in a nursing home, and the vast majority had at least one disability.

People 90 and older nearly tripled from 720,000 in 1980 to almost 2 million in 2010 and are projected to quadruple by 2050. Their share among the older population (65 and older) grew from 2.8 percent in 1980 to 4.7 percent in 2010 and is projected to reach about 10 percent in 2050. Can you imagine a society, 40 years from now, where 20 percent of the total population will be a person age 65 and older and one in 10 of them is someone 90 or older?

The implications for the family and our society of this growing population are likely to be significant. The older people get the more likely they are to be limited by disabilities, which may make fully taking care of themselves difficult.

An older person’s likelihood of living in a nursing facility increases sharply with age. While only 1 percent of people in their upper 60s and 3 percent in their upper 70s were in nursing homes, the proportion rose to 20 percent for those in their lower 90s, more than 30 percent for people in their upper 90s, and nearly 40 percent for centenarians. A quarter of the 90-plus women lived in a nursing home, compared with about 15 percent of the 90-plus men.

Read the report....

Read the press release...

A Nation Still on the Move But Less Transient Than Before

Written by: Alison Fields

Although many of us still move over the course of a year, we are now less likely to do so. The percentage of people who changed residences in the last year ─ between 2010 and 2011 ─ reached the lowest level since the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey began collecting such information in 1948.

We used to be a much more mobile society. In the mid-1980s, about 20 percent of us moved during the previous year. In 2007, prior to the latest recession, 13.2 percent of us had moved in the previous year. The following year, the rate plunged to a then-record low of 11.9 percent before rebounding a bit to 12.5 percent in 2009. The 2010 rate was not statistically different from the 2009 rate.

The Census Bureau today released four statistical products relating to migration that collectively paint a vivid portrait of our nation’s movers, describing their characteristics and the nature of these moves. One aspect of the findings shows the number of people who moved from one particular state to another using data from the American Community Survey. The most common such move between 2009 and 2010 was from California to Texas: about 70,000 people made such a relocation.

In fact, a move from California to another state comprised four of the 10 most common state-to-state moves (also known as “flows”). In addition to Texas, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and Nevada were the most common destinations of those leaving California. The second most common move overall was New York to Florida, and the third most was Florida to Georgia. It should be noted that flows in the top 10 may not be significantly different from flows outside the top 10.

The majority of Americans ─ 59 percent ─ live in the state in which they were born. There are large variations in this rate, however, between different parts of the country. For instance, the Midwest had the highest rate among regions: 70 percent. This indicates relatively lower lifetime mobility. The West, on the other hand, had the lowest such percentage: 50 percent. This means people there are more mobile over the course of their life.

For more information on Census Bureau migration products... 

Read the press release...