Census Stats from American Community Survey

American Community Survey (ACS)
(Provides state, county and city statistics)

Income

• In the 2007 ACS, median household income ranged from $68,080 for Maryland to $36,338 for Mississippi. (The median income for Mississippi was not significantly different from that for West Virginia.)
• Median household incomes for 18 states and the District of Columbia were above the U.S. median in 2007, while 29 states were below it. Three states had 2007 median household incomes that were not statistically different from the U.S. median.
• Real median household income rose between the 2006 ACS and the 2007 ACS for 33 states, while one state (Michigan) experienced a decline.
• For counties with 250,000 or more people, median household income ranged from $107,207 for Loudoun County, Va., to $29,347 for Cameron County, Texas. (Median income for Loudoun was not significantly different from that for Fairfax County, Va. In addition, median income for Cameron was not significantly different from that for Hidalgo County, Texas.)
• For counties with a population between 65,000 and 249,999 people, median household income ranged from $100,327 for Hunterdon County, N.J., to $26,275 for St. Landry Parish, La. (Median income in Hunterdon was not significantly different from that for Calvert County, Md., and Arlington County, Va. In addition, median income for St. Landry Parish was not significantly different from that for Apache County, Ariz.)
• For large places (250,000 or more people), Plano, Texas, had the highest median household income ($84,492), while Detroit had among the lowest ($28,097).
• For smaller places (65,000 to 249,999 people), Pleasanton, Calif., had among the highest median household income ($113,345), while Youngstown, Ohio ($24,941) had among the lowest.

Poverty

• In the 2007 ACS, among states and the District of Columbia, poverty rates ranged from 7.1 percent for New Hampshire to 20.6 percent for Mississippi.
• In the 2007 ACS, there were 29 states in which poverty rates were lower than the national average; for 17 states and the District of Columbia, they were higher.
• For 12 states and the District of Columbia, poverty rates declined from the 2006 to the 2007 ACS: Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah. The only state where the poverty rate increased was Michigan.
• Among counties with 250,000 or more people in 2007, Cameron and Hidalgo counties in Texas had higher poverty rates than the others. On the other hand, Douglas County, Colo., had a lower poverty rate than every other county in the same size category except for Somerset County, N.J., which at 2.6 percent was not statistically different.
• Among smaller counties — populations between 65,000 and 249,999 ? Apache County, Ariz. (33.8 percent), St. Landry Parish, La. (32.8 percent), Webb County, Texas (31.1 percent) and Robeson County, N.C. (28.7 percent), while not statistically different from each other, had among the highest poverty rates in the 2007 ACS. With poverty rates ranging from 3.4 percent to 4.6 percent, the 10 smaller counties with the lowest rates did not differ statistically from one another. Among these counties was Stafford County, Va., where 3.4 percent had income below the poverty level.
• In the 2007 ACS, among large cities (250,000 or more population), Detroit had the highest poverty rate (33.8 percent). Plano, Texas (5.9 percent), Virginia Beach, Va. (6.4 percent) and Anchorage, Alaska (7.3 percent), while not statistically different from each other, had lower poverty rates than other cities of the same size.
• Among the smaller cities (65,000 to 249,999 population), Bloomington, Ind. (41.6 percent) had a higher poverty rate point estimate than other places, although its rate was not statistically different from that of Camden, N.J.; Brownsville, Texas; and Gainesville, Fla. The poverty rate for Highlands Ranch, Colo., which was among the lowest (0.8 percent), was not statistically different from Chino, Calif.; Yorba Linda, Calif.; Folsom, Calif.; Flower Mound, Texas; Pleasanton, Calif.; and Weston, Fla.

Earnings

• Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Alaska had median earnings above $50,000 for men who worked full time, year-round in the 2007 ACS. No state had median earnings for women above $50,000, but the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut had median earnings for women who worked full time, year-round above $40,000.
• For each of the 50 states, women had lower median earnings than men in the 2007 ACS. The District of Columbia had the highest ratio of women’s-to-men’s earnings (93.4 percent). In fact, there was no statistically significant difference between women’s and men’s median earnings in Washington, D.C.

Note that estimates from the CPS ASEC may not match the estimates from the ACS because of differences in the questionnaires, data collection methodology, reference period, processing procedures, etc. Both surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All comparisons made in the reports have been tested and found to be statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.

For additional information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates for the CPS, visit <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/p60_235sa.pdf>. For additional information on the ACS data, visit <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/Accuracy/Accuracy1.htm>.