What the Census Tells Us About US

Every ten years, our government is supposed to count us. It’s really the only way to figure out who lives where, what they are doing and what needs fixing. The census informs many decisions about voting districts, Congressional representation, state funding; you name it and its census data which provides the background info. We’ve officially completed the census last summer but it takes a while to crunch all those numbers. As recently reported in TIME Magazine, there are five interesting factoids that have come out of the census. These are defiantly the kind of game changing trends which could redefine who we are as a nation as we head into 2012; unless of course the Mayans got it right then we won’t have much to worry about.

According to TIME, here are the top five surprising new census factoids:

1. WE’RE GROWING MORE SLOWLY

Does that mean that time is slowing down? Will we finally have an extra hour in our day to watch more reruns of “Dirty Jobs?” (Shameless plug). Not exactly. However, the last decade had the slowest population growth in 70 years. We only grew by 9.7% as opposed to the 13.1% in the 1990s. That’s good news for anyone who hates standing in line at the bank or post office but not so great in terms of having the work force to build stuff.

It breaks down that there are currently fewer Americans who are in the proverbial “child-bearing years.” Immigration is also down and all of this ends up into a slow economic growth. Regionally speaking, the South and the West added the most residents in the last ten years at 23 million while the Midwest and Northeast only managed to squeeze out 4 million. As a point of comparison, even with the slowdown, we still managed to add the equivalent of 80% of Canada’s population since 2000. Take that Canada!

2. WE CAN’T LEAVE HOME

This will come as no new news to many parents but more Americans are stuck at home. And by more Americans they mean the kids. The percentage of Americans who moved in 2011 hit 11.6%, the lowest that figure has been since the 1950s. This is all part of that nasty economic cycle that spins and spins: Because the economy is poor kids can’t move out of their parents’ house and the economy is poor because those kids aren’t moving out of their parents’ house. Mom? Dad? Do your part: Kick the kids to the curb and let’s get this country growing again!

3. WE’RE CLOSER TO BECOMING A “MAJORITY MINORITY” NATION

As it was in the early 1900s, the early 2000s are seeing those “huddled masses, yearning to breathe free” experiencing a growth spurt. What this means is that by the year 2040 the Census folks thinks we’ll hit the majority minority mark. Which means those who are now in the majority, ethnically speaking, will be in the minority and visa versa. Here’s how the numbers break down: Non-whites, largely Hispanics and Asians, made up 92% of population growth in the last decade, and many of them are moving into large metro areas or the suburbs. Minorities now consist of more than half the population in 22 large U.S. cities, an increase from 14 metro areas in 2000 and only five in 1990. And according to Census figures, a majority of every major racial and ethnic group in large cities now lives in the suburbs. So there you go.

4. WE’RE GETTING OLDER

Gee, thanks, Census, for the reminder as if I really needed that. Once again we turn to the number crunchers for an explanation. As they explain it, “the U.S.’s 45-and-over population has grown more than 18 times faster than the group that is currently under 45.” Where is everybody going? The oldsters are flocking to Buffalo and Cleveland while the youngsters are heading to Raleigh and Las Vegas. Now, Vegas I can understand but Buffalo in the winter? Yikes! It’s also a rush to the suburbs for the 45 and older set where at least half the population in that age bracket lives. Bottom line: Baby boomers, you’ve come of age. Perhaps it’s time to drop the “baby” part of your moniker and just go with “Boomers.”

5. WE’RE NOT MAKING AS MUCH MONEY AS WE WERE 10 YEARS AGO

Okay, it’s official. The US Census should be renamed Captain Buzzkill. According to the date, the median household income fell for the first time on record. In 2010, the typical household earned $49,445, a decrease of 7% from 2000, while poverty climbed to 15.1% of the population, the highest since 1993.

As depressing as you might feel after reading these numbers, let’s not think we’re still a pretty, darn, cool country. We’re always going to have growing pains in some form but we seem to sort them out. Let’s just be thankful we all got counted!

— Meyer