Census Data Trends

Date:September 13, 2006 | Author:drewmeyers | Category:Real Estate Analytics

Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual snapshot of economic health of the U.S., so we decided to have some fun by digging into the newly released Community Sourcebook Data that also contains U.S. Census information, plus much more. It was easy to get lost in the data for hours at a time, but I had to stop somewhere. Below are some of the more interesting indicators that I observed. To help tell the stories, I created some heat maps to accompany the findings.

2000-2006 Population Growth by County

It’s no real surprise that the counties hit hard by last season’s hurricanes — mainly, Katrina — are at the bottom of the list in terms of population growth. It’s very interesting to look at the regions that have experienced high growth rates. Southern California — along with parts of Florida and Georgia — appear to be the fastest-growing regions of the country (map below).

Popgrowth

Top 5

  • Flagler, FL – 9.4%
  • Loudoun, VA – 8.3%
  • Henry, GA – 7.8%
  • Paulding, GA – 7.3%
  • Newton, GA – 7.2%

Bottom 5

  • St. Bernard Parish, LA – -47.8%
  • Orleans Parish, LA – -18.9%
  • Hancock, MS – -11.7%
  • Plaquemines Parish, LA – -8%
  • Cameron Parish, LA – -7.9%

2006 Median Age by County

This indicator shows where the majority of people retire and it’s no surprise that Florida, Hawaii, and Texas are the big three. Other hot spots include Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas. On the map below (click on it for a bigger version), that large swath of green through the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions means a heavy population of younger adults.

Medage_1

Top 5 (oldest)

Bottom 5 (youngest)

  • Wade Hampton Census Area, AK – 21.4 years
  • Madison, ID – 21.5 years
  • Shannon, SD – 22 years
  • Todd, SD – 22.6 years
  • Chattahoochee, GA – 23.7 years

2011 Estimated Median Household Income by County

Douglas County, Colorado, which is located midway between Denver and Colorado Springs, tops the list with an estimated household income slightly over $130,000. Rounding out the top 5 are three counties in the Northeast and Los Alamos, NM. On the low end of the income scale is Kalawao County in Hawaii, which appears to be a retirement community given that it has the lowest estimated median household income and the highest median age in the United States. The entire South looks to be on the low end while the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and West Coast have relatively high median estimated household incomes.

Medhhincome2011

Top 5

Bottom 5

  • Kalawao, HI – $8,852
  • Buffalo, SD – $17,609
  • Wilcox, AL – $20,885
  • Holmes, MS – $21,275
  • McDowell, WV – $21,617

There is all sorts of data available such as average household size and household income rank by county or ZIP code. In addition, counties are compared to each other via indexes in a variety of topics. Among the spending indices compared are Travel, Vehicle Loans, Retirement Plans, Cable TV, and Apparel. Are there other maps you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments section.