Random Samplings

The Funding of our State and Local Governments

Written by: Lisa M. Blumerman and Jeffrey L. Barnett, Governments Division, US Census Bureau

These days the health of our state and local governments is a topic that is much debated. Are our state and local governments solvent? Will they continue to be able to provide the services we expect and depend on?  Will our state and local governments be the next housing crisis? Or is the reality somewhere in between?

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 Annual Surveys of State and Local Government Finances provide a look at the revenues, assets, expenditures, and debt of our nation’s governments.  These data help us better understand the fiscal health of our governments and allow us to begin to answer the questions above.

In order to understand the health of our governments, we must first understand how they are funded – or where the revenue comes from. Once that foundation is built, we can then understand how they spend our money. (See figure: Revenue of State and Local Governments: 2009).

State and local government revenues declined 22.1 percent from 2008 to receipts of $2.1 trillion in 2009. The general revenue funds of state and local governments totaled $2.4 trillion in 2009. As shown in the figure above, the major components of general revenue for state and local governments in 2009 were taxes (52.7 percent), federal support (22.2 percent) and charges (16.1 percent).

Taxes are the principal source of general revenue for our governments comprising 47.8 percent of general revenue for state governments and 39.5 percent of general revenue for local governments in 2009. Overall, tax revenue declined by 4.5 percent for all governments to

$1.3 trillion in 2009. This decline was driven by declines in receipt of monies from individual income and corporate taxes (11.3 and 19.2 percent, respectively). 

State and local governments differ in their dependence on federal funding for their support. In 2009, state governments received 31.8 percent of their general revenue from the federal government; whereas, local governments received 4.3 percent of their general revenue directly as federal support.  [Note, local governments receive a considerable amount of funding as “pass-through” funding from their state government. This funding originated at the federal level but because it “passes through” the state it is accounted for as state revenue in our data.]

The rest of the funding of our state and local governments comes from a variety of sources (as shown above), including current charges, utility revenue, liquor store revenue and insurance trust revenue. Typically, at the state level, insurance trust revenue (or revenue from investments related to state government pension and other trust funds) is the next largest generator of funds. However, this was not the case in 2009. In 2009, current charges was the next largest generator of funds at $161.2 billion. Insurance trust revenue declined in 2009. For both state and local governments, current charges generated $388.8 billion in 2009.

That is the picture of how our state and local governments generate the monies they need to provide us with services. Coming soon, “Your Tax Dollars at Work: How our State and Local Governments Spend our Money.”

These statistics are available for all state and local governments. To understand your governments’ finances for 2009, visit our website. 

Read the press release.

Tweet

American Community Survey Takes Our Nation’s Demographic Pulse Each Year

Written by: James Treat, US Census Bureau

In every census between 1940 and 2000, millions of American households received a “long form”, which contained scores of questions on a wide range of demographic, socioeconomic and housing topics.

Following the 2000 Census, the long form was, in effect, split off from the census and turned into the American Community Survey. The rationale was simple: because our nation changes so rapidly, our communities needed this kind of information on a much more frequent basis − annually, rather than once a decade − in order to make informed decisions about where to build roads, construct schools and locate emergency services. And businesses sought these key data much more often than once every 10 years too for the purposes of site selection and marketing.

Yesterday, the Census Bureau released results from the annual ACS, which cover 2010. The information was collected from almost 2 million housing unit interviews across the country.

The survey offers statistics on more than 40 subjects, such as income, health insurance coverage, commuting to work, educational attainment, language spoken at home, ancestry, selected monthly homeowner costs, the foreign-born population, occupation, and military veterans. The numbers are available for not only the nation as a whole and all of our states and congressional districts, but also for counties and cities with total populations of more than 65,000. Statistics for smaller areas will be available later in the year.

Dig deep into this goldmine of numbers and here are a few of the nuggets you will find:

• Average travel time to work was highest for Maryland (31.8 minutes) and then New York (31.3 minutes). North Dakota had the lowest average travel times (16.1) followed by South Dakota (16.8).
• Real median household income decreased between the 2009 ACS and 2010 ACS in 35 states. For 15 states and the District of Columbia, real median household income in the 2010 ACS was not statistically different from that in the 2009 ACS.
• In 2010, 32 percent of the foreign-born population from Latin America were naturalized citizens. Among counties of birth, Jamaica (61 percent) and Cuba (56 percent) had the highest percent naturalized. Mexico (23 percent) and Honduras (21 percent) were among the countries with the lowest percent naturalized.
• In 2010, the percent of individuals 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree ranged from 17.5 percent in West Virginia to 39.0 percent in Massachusetts. In six states more than one-third of those 25 and over had a bachelor’s degree: Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia.

In October, the Census Bureau will release a set of ACS estimates covering all areas with populations of 20,000 or more, based on data collected between 2008 and 2010. A third set of ACS estimates, covering the 2006-2010 period, will be released in December, providing information for all geographic areas regardless of size.

Nowhere else will one see data on such a wide array of key attributes about our communities. To dig into the data yourself, visit the American FactFinder.

Tweet

What is a College Degree Worth?

Written by: Tiffany Julian, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, US Census Bureau

A college degree has long been considered the golden ticket to success in life. High schools and parents constantly reinforce the importance of obtaining a college degree to the young adults in their life. With the rising costs of tuition, room and board and meal plans, the question remains: is a college diploma worth the time and investment? Will a college degree provide a job seeker with an advantage over other competitors in the job market?

 According to a report released by the US Census Bureau, there is a correlation between higher education and work-life earnings. The Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earnings report showed that education had more effect on work-life earnings than other demographic factors, such as race, gender and Hispanic origin. For example, a Hispanic male worker who has a professional degree is expected to make $3.1 million over a 40-year work-life, whereas someone with an eighth grade level of education or lower will make $977,000.

The report shows that factors such as race, Hispanic origin, gender, citizenship, English-speaking ability and geographic location influence work-life earnings, though none of these characteristics has a greater impact on earnings than education. For two people who are alike in all ways but education, the estimated annual difference in life earnings between a professional degree and an eighth grade education was about $72,000. This analysis reflects a strong correlation between education and earnings.

This report also shows that even women in the most advantaged race groups earn less than men, in the most economically disadvantaged race groups. Generally, Asian men and women with a Bachelor’s degree or higher had greater returns on higher education than blacks or Hispanics of either gender. So what does this mean to a recent high school graduate? And what does this mean for a working professional considering college? Is the struggle really worth it? At least in economic terms, the answer is yes. The relationship between higher education and work-life earnings does have a positive correlation.

 

Read the press release.

Tweet

Going Back to School

Do you have a student going back to school this month? The U.S. Census Bureau first collected information on the number of schools and students during the 1840 Census. That year, there were approximately 2 million students attending 50,000 schools. Today, there are more than 47 million students attending the 90,750 elementary and secondary schools in the United States.

The Census Bureau collects a variety of information on school districts, school enrollment, educational attainment, public school finances, educational services, and other related topics. For example:

• The projected number of high school diplomas that will be awarded in the 2011-12 school year is 3.2 million.

• There were 7.2 million school teachers in the United States in 2009. In 1980, public school teachers earned around $16,000 per year. In 2009, their yearly salaries averaged $53,000.

• In 2009, the per-pupil expenditure on public elementary and secondary education nationally was $10,499.

• In 1850, there were 234 colleges in the United States with an enrollment of 27,159 students. In 2007, there were 4,409 colleges and universities with 18.2 million students.

For more education-related statistics, see the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features for the 2011-2012 school year.

For more information on the history of the U.S. Census Bureau, click here.

Tweet

Funding Public Education

Written by: Lisa Blumerman, Chief, Governments Division, US Census Bureau

Most students in the United States depend on public schools for their education, so it’s not surprising that the public has a keen interest on how tax dollars are spent to support public education.

Children sitting in classrooms, riding buses, eating school lunches, participating in school programs are our nation’s future, so we want to provide them with a good start in life.

Today, the Census Bureau is releasing new statistics on the finances of elementary and secondary public school systems from our Public Education Finances: 2009.

Looking at details such as the source of revenue or spending categories gives us a better idea about how our tax dollars are being spent – i.e., how much of total spending goes toward instruction, how much toward children’s nutrition, how much for transportation, salaries, etc.

Funding public education in the United States is a joint effort between federal, state and local governments—and is the single largest category of state and local government spending. It’s vital for government leaders, school officials, policy makers and organizations that support education to understand how we are funding and operating our public school systems.

Of the money received by public school systems, 91 percent came from state and local sources; 9 percent came from the federal government. The $591 billion in total funding in 2009 works out to about $10,499 per pupil, a 2 percent increase from 2008.

Public schools in New York spent more than any other state or state equivalent, with $18,126 per pupil in 2009. The District of Columbia ($16,408), New Jersey ($16,271), Alaska ($15,552) and Vermont ($15,175) had the next-highest spending.

Public Education Finance: 2009 provides the most recent and complete picture of how taxpayer money is being spent on education.

For information on your state’s public school spending, click here.

Read the full report.

Read the press release.

Tweet

Finishing What We Start?

Written by: Kurt Bauman, Chief, Education and Social Stratification Branch, U.S. Census Bureau

Ideally, in life, people hope to finish what they start. But when it comes to an education, for a variety of reasons, things don’t always work out that way. Data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey bears this out.

More than one in three adults 25 and older in 2010 left school before being awarded the degree they were presumably aiming for. This includes 15 percent of the population who did not earn a regular high school diploma, the group sometimes labeled “dropouts.” (About 2 percent earned a GED and roughly 1 percent were close, even reaching the 12th grade.) An even greater share of the 25-and-older population, 17 percent, attended some college but left before receiving a degree. Rounding out the list were 4 percent who spent some time in graduate school without getting an advanced degree to show for their efforts.

On the other hand, most adults 25 and older (64 percent) did finish their schooling with a diploma or degree. The most common of these is a high school diploma, which was the highest level attained by 30 percent of those 25 and older. Another 9 percent left school with an associate’s degree, and 15 percent finished with a bachelor’s degree, which did not differ statistically from those who did not earn a high school diploma. Finally, 11 percent completed an advanced degree.

Included in those who did not earn a high school diploma are those who never attended school at all. This group makes up less than 1 percent of the population.

These data come from tabulations on Educational Attainment in the United States: 2010 and not only examine gender differences in attainment but also provide the most detailed information on years of school completed ever presented by the Census Bureau, showing for each level of attainment exactly how many years of education adults have. The Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement is conducted in February, March and April at about 100,000 addresses nationwide.

 

Tweet

The World at Your Fingertips

Written by: Ian O'Brien, Branch Chief - Statistical Compendia Branch, Administrative and Customer Services Division

Did you know that Raleigh, N.C., was the fastest-growing large metro area in the last decade?  (View table 21). That only about 5 percent of us take public transportation to work? (View table 1099). Well, thanks to the Statistical Abstract, now you know.

Perennially the federal government’s best-selling publication, the Statistical Abstract has been published yearly since 1878. The 2011 edition, the 130th in the series, has more than 1,400 tables ─ including 65 new ones ─ from sources both government and private.

Think of a key factor in your life and chances are you will find information on it in the Statistical Abstract: health, education, crime, agriculture ─ no matter. If you need a stat, this is the place to turn.

The Abstract provides copious amounts of data on topics that have been in the news ─ mining fatalities, offshore oil drilling, and distracted drivers. It also examines the more offbeat: people injured in accidents involving televisions (table 197), cyberbullying (table 247) and honey bee colonies (table 860).

And when you need data on pretty much any topic that ends up being in the news in the coming year, count on finding it in the Stat Abstract.

For more information, read the press release or visit the 2011 Statistical Abstract website.

Tweet

Higher Education and the ACS

In 2009, the American Community Survey collected information on bachelor’s degrees for the first time, including the specific major of each degree attained.

The estimated number of people in the United States over age 25 with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 56.3 million in 2009. Of this group, 20.5 million, or 36.4 percent, held at least one science and engineering degree.

The map below displays the variation in science and engineering degrees by state for 2009.

The percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees in the science and engineering fields ranged from 26 percent to as high as 51 in the District of Columbia.

The District of Columbia and the five states of California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington had a percentage of science and engineering degrees above 40 percent. Nine additional states were also above the national average of 36.4 percent: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.

Click here to read the full report.

The U.S Census Bureau is pleased to announce the release of twelve more reports from the American Community Survey (ACS) Brief series for 2009. These short reports cover a wide range of topics including public transportation usage, population with Haitian ancestry in the United States, rental housing market conditions, and science and engineering degrees. An initial set of seven reports was released on Sept. 28, 2010.

What is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. It has an annual sample size of about 3 million addresses across the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation, and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey.

Tweet