Random Samplings

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.

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End of Recession Doesn’t Mean Good Times Return Right Away

Written by: David Johnson, US Census Bureau

An economic recession is typically defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research as a decline in the gross domestic product for two or more consecutive calendar quarters. The last recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.

Numbers just released by the Census Bureau, however, illustrate that while the recession may technically be over, household economic conditions did not improve.

Every year, the Census Bureau collects data on how much income households receive. The year 2010 is the first full calendar year after the latest recession and the first chance we have to see whether, based on income, economic conditions have improved since the recession’s end.

The answer is “no.” During the 2010 calendar year, median household income was $49,445, 2.3 percent lower than in 2009 after adjusting for inflation. Median indicates half of households had income more than this amount and half less. The total household income indicates the amount of money everyone 15 and older living in the household collectively brought in that year.

More often than not in recent history, the end of a recession has not immediately led to rising income levels. There have been seven recessions since 1969. In four of them, including the last one, median household income actually declined in the first full year after the recession. On two other occasions, the change was not statistically significant. Only once did it actually increase.

Over the years, researchers and analysts have used these annual income estimates to chart the effectiveness of government programs, gauge the economic well-being of the country, develop marketing strategies for business and assess the impact of changing demographic patterns. These numbers are considered the most timely and accurate national data on income.

Respondents in our surveys may feel uneasy giving information on personal subjects like income. However, this is how the nation determines our economic health – through analyzing the responses of households across America. Furthermore, there is no need to worry. All Census Bureau employees take an oath and are sworn for life not to share any personal data with anyone.

To access all of our income data, visit our website.

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Income Gap: Is it Widening?

Written by: David Johnson, US Census Bureau

Economists study closely the issue of income inequality in our nation; that is, the income gap between the wealthiest and least wealthy Americans.

The Census Bureau publishes several measures of income inequality every year. The two principal measures used are the share of aggregate household income received by quintiles (Quintiles mean the wealthiest 20 percent, the next wealthiest 20 percent, and so forth), and the Gini Index.

We found that, based on the quintile measure, income inequality increased between 2009 and 2010. In 2010, the bottom 20 percent of households received 3.3 percent of total income, down from 3.4 percent in 2009. These households had incomes of $20,000 or less in 2010. There was also a decrease in the second lowest quintile from 8.6 percent to 8.5 percent.

Toward the other end of the continuum, those in the next-to-top 20 percent (fourth quintile) received 23.4 percent of income in 2010, up from 23.2 percent in 2009. These households had incomes between $61,736 and $100,065. Those in the very top 20 percent, meanwhile, controlled about half the nation’s income, not statistically different from 2009. These households had incomes of $100,066 or more. About 23.7 million households fall into each quintile.

The other measure is the Gini index, which stood at 0.469 in 2010. The Gini indicates higher inequality as the index approaches one. In other words, if the index was one, it would mean a single household in the U.S. had all the country’s income. Conversely, an index of zero would signal perfect equality, in which all the nation’s households had the exact same amount of income.

Between 2009 and 2010, the change in the Gini index was not statistically significant. Since 1993, however, the earliest year for which comparable measures of income inequality are available, the Gini index is up 3.3 percent, which means inequality has increased somewhat over the long term.

To access all of our measures of income inequality, read the report here.

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Households Doubling Up

Written by: David Johnson, US Census Bureau

In coping with economic challenges over the past few years, many of us have combined households with other family members or individuals. These “doubled-up” households are defined as those that include at least one “additional” adult – in other words, a person 18 or older who is not enrolled in school and is not the householder, spouse or cohabiting partner of the householder.

The Census Bureau reported today that the number and share of doubled-up households and adults sharing households across the country increased over the course of the recession, which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. In spring 2007, there were 19.7 million doubled-up households, amounting to 17.0 percent of all households. Four years later, in spring 2011, the number of such households had climbed to 21.8 million, or 18.3 percent.

All in all, 61.7 million adults, or 27.7 percent, were doubled-up in 2007, rising to 69.2 million, or 30.0 percent, in 2011.

Young adults were especially hard-hit, with 5.9 million people ages 25 to 34 living in their parents’ household in 2011, up from 4.7 million before the recession. That left 14.2 percent of young adults living in their parents’ households in March 2011, up more than two percentage points over the period.

These young adults who lived with their parents had an official poverty rate of only 8.4 percent, since the income of their entire family is compared with the poverty threshold. If their poverty status were determined by their own income, 45.3 percent would have had income falling below the poverty threshold for a single person under age 65.

Each year, the Census Bureau asks people in roughly 78,000 households about their income in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to our Current Population Survey. If you are one of them, remember that your answer is very important and kept in strict confidence. This information helps our nation address the many problems of poverty and find solutions.

To learn more about poverty at the local level, you can consult results from the American Community Survey, which has statistics from counties, cities and smaller areas.

To access all of our poverty data, visit our website.

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Visualizing Income and Poverty Estimates

Written by: Wesley Basel and KaNin Reese, US Census Bureau

Recently the U.S. Census Bureau added interactive maps to the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates program's (SAIPE) website. This web-based interactive tool allows users to select, map, and display estimates of poverty by state, county and school district, and median household income by state and county.

The SAIPE program is the only source of poverty estimates for every county and school district based on the most recently available year of survey and auxiliary data. The school district poverty estimates are used by the U.S. Department of Education in the formula for allocating Title I funds, as directed by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Currently $14 billion are allocated to school districts for Title I purposes.

COUNTY MAP: United States

The default display when you first click on the SAIPE interactive map link is state-level poverty for all people. To display the county map, choose counties in the first dropdown on the upper left, then press the Go button.

In addition to the poverty estimate for all ages, the user may also select percent in poverty for under age 18 or ages 5-17 in families. One can also view the county-level data for median household income.

To see more detail on the interactive map, you can double-click to zoom in. There are also zoom controls below the map pane.  This snapshot emphasizes the ability to concentrate on a specific geographic area. In this case, the range of median household income in the St. Louis area is the focus. Note that when one hovers over an individual area, a pop-up balloon displays the name and estimates value for that specific area. Also the table of estimates displayed below the map pane is linked to the area being highlighted.

MULTIPLE STATE COUNTY MAP: St. Louis Metropolitan Area

The final snapshot depicts school district poverty estimates for children age 5 to 17 in families, which can be viewed for each individual state. In the drop-downs at the top of the map pane, select “Unified and Elementary Districts” from the left drop down, and then Texas (for e.g.) from the right. The zoom feature allows you to focus on a detailed portion of the state and the hover feature allows you to view poverty estimates from one school district to another, as well as displaying the name to help one locate a specific district.

Note also you can select different backgrounds for the map from the dropdown box at the lower right of the map pane. You can have a blank background to present a clearer picture of the poverty differences in the area, or you can display street view as shown below, to assist in placing the district boundaries in the context of streets and cities in the area.

SCHOOL DISTRICT MAP: Houston Independent School District, Texas

The SAIPE interactive mapping tool was released in May 2011 and features estimates from 2009. More options for downloading the 2009 SAIPE estimates are also available. SAIPE estimates for 2010 are planned for release in December 2011.

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March is Women's History Month

The role of women in history was first commemorated in March 1978 as Women's History Week in Sonoma County, California. Congress issued a joint resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week in 1981, and expanded the celebration to an entire month in 1987. Since then, Congress has designated every March as Women's History Month.

The statistics collected by the U.S. Census Bureau reveal many facts about the changing female population of the United States over time. For example:

• The 1790 Census counted 1.5 million women (and almost 1.6 million men) living in the United States. On October 1 2010, there were 157 million women and 153 million men in the United States (Source: Population estimates).
• The median income of women who worked full time was $37,000 in 2009, compared to $19,000 (adjusting for inflation) in 1955. In comparison, men’s median income was $49,000 in 2009 and almost $30,000 in 1955.
• In 1960, women accounted for 4 percent of the employees in the protective services (such as firefighters and police officers) and 63 percent of education professionals. Today, women account for 22 percent of protective service employees and 69 percent of the education workforce (Source: 2005-2009 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates).
• Prior to the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 7 percent of all high school athletes [PDF 209.5 KB] were girls. In 2000, girls accounted for 42 percent of high school athletes (Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States).
• Between 1997 and 2007, the number of women-owned businesses increased from 5.4 million to 7.8 million. Today women own almost 29 percent of all businesses in the United States.

This Month in Census History: On March 31, 1951, the U.S. Census Bureau installed the UNIVAC I. The UNIVAC I was the first commercial, general-purpose data processing computer. It was used to tabulate part of the 1950 census of population and the 1954 economic census.

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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.

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Income vs. Earnings

Income and earnings are often confused. In reality, earnings are just one kind of income.

Every year, the Census Bureau collects data on how much money households obtain from 50 different sources, all of which we label “income.” Earnings, primarily wages and salary from a job, are usually a big source of income. Other sources of income include Social Security payments, pensions, child support, public assistance, annuities, money derived from rental properties, interest and dividends.

During the 2009 calendar year, median household income totaled $49,800, which did not differ from the previous year. Median means half of households had income more than this amount, and half less. The total indicates the amount of money everyone 15 years and older living in the household collectively brought in that year.

When we examine earnings, we find big differences by the gender of workers. Among people who worked year-round and full-time in 2009, men earned a median of $47,100 and women $36,300 or 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Earnings actually increased between 2008 and 2009 for both sexes.

Over the years, researchers and analysts have used these annual income and earnings estimates to chart the effectiveness of government programs, gauge the economic well-being of the country, develop marketing strategies for business and assess the impact of changing demographic patterns. These numbers are considered the most timely and accurate national data on income.

Respondents in our surveys may feel uneasy giving information on personal subjects like income. Not to worry, though. All Census Bureau employees take an oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life not to share confidential data with anyone.

To access all of our income data, visit the Census Bureau's Income website.

Read Press Release: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009

View Census: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance data presentation slides

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