21% of Adults Were Caregivers in 2015–2017

Public health officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the looming need for caregiving as the baby-boom generation ages into infirmity. To find out how much caregiving is currently being provided, the CDC included questions about it in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys of 2015, 2016, and 2017.

According to the CDC's estimate, 17.7 million adults were informal, unpaid caregivers in 2015. They had provided regular care in the past 30 days to a friend or family member with a health problem or disability. Over the three-year time period, a substantial 21 percent of adults were caregivers.

Because the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a survey administered by the states, the CDC report on caregiving provides state-level detail. Caregivers are most prevalent in the southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee, where more than 25 percent of adults are currently providing care. Women are the majority of caregivers in every state and account for 58 percent of caregivers nationally. By age, 45 percent of caregivers are under age 45, 34 percent are aged 45 to 64, and 21 percent are aged 65 or older. In Florida and Oregon, more than 25 percent of caregivers are aged 65 or older. Among caregivers nationally, 19 percent report being in fair or poor health.

"As the U.S. population continues to age, the need for informal caregivers is likely to increase," the CDC concludes. But "population dynamics might result in fewer available caregivers per person." There are several reasons for a potential caregiver shortage, says the CDC—smaller family sizes and fewer adult children, working women, and geographically dispersed families.

Source: CDC, Characteristics and Health Status of Informal Unpaid Caregivers—44 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2015–2017

Who Lives in the Suburbs?

When it comes to identifying where Americans live, there are two different perspectives. One perspective is delineated by the federal government's metropolitan area definitions, where people live in the principal city of a metro area, or outside the principal city but still in the metro area (the suburbs), or in a nonmetropolitan area. The other and perhaps more important perspective is based on feelings. Millions of Americans feel like they live in small cities and towns, finds a Gallup survey, when they actually live in big cities and suburbs, according to metropolitan definitions.

The biggest difference between perception and reality is in the suburbs. The 54 percent majority of Americans live in the suburbs—in a metropolitan area outside a principal city, according to the government's definition. But only 26 percent of Americans think they live in the suburbs, finds Gallup.

There's also a difference in perceptions of city living. Fewer Americans say they live in a "big city" than actually live in the principal cities of metropolitan areas. Only 20 percent think they live in a big city, according to Gallup, but 32 percent of the U.S. population lives in a principal city—defined as a city with a population of at least 50,000.

Where are the missing city and suburban residents? They're not in rural areas, since the percentage of Americans who say they live in a rural area almost exactly matches the government's nonmetropolitan population estimate—15 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Instead, the missing city and suburban residents live in what they identify as small cities (20 percent) or towns (16 percent).

Bottom line: Many Americans feel like they live in smaller, more intimate communities than what is conjured by the terms "principal city" and "suburb."

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Census Bureau data; and Gallup, Americans Big on Idea of Living in the Country

Food-Related Activities Rank 4th in Time Use

How much of your day revolves around food? If you're an average American, then it's a lot. Food-related activities rank fourth in the amount of time they consume, according to a study by the USDA's Economic Research Service, behind only sleep, paid work, and watching TV.

Americans spent an average of 117.5 minutes a day in food-related activities during the 2014–17 time period, the study finds. That's 8.2 percent of 24 hours. Food-related activities include traveling to grocery stores and restaurants, shopping for food, preparing meals, eating and drinking, and loading the dishwasher. Here's how much time the average person and the average participant spend per day in each of the major categories of food-related activities...

Eating and drinking

Average time: 64.0 minutes

Percent participating: 95.1%

Time spent by participants: 67.3 minutes

Food preparation

Average time: 27.5 minutes

Percent participating: 53.5%

Time spent by participants: 51.4 minutes

Food-related cleanup

Average time: 7.7 minutes

Percent participating: 22.6%

Time spent by participants: 34.1 minutes

Travel associated with eating

Average time: 6.5 minutes

Percent participating: 22.9%

Time spent by participants: 28.3 minutes

Grocery shopping

Average time: 6.3 minutes

Percent participating: 13.8%

Time spent by participants: 46.0 minutes

Travel for grocery shopping

Average time: 3.3 minutes

Percent participating: 13.7%

Time spent by participants: 24.4 minutes

Purchasing non-grocery food

Average time: 1.5 minutes

Percent participating: 13.5%

Time spent by participants: 10.9 minutes

Source: USDA Economic Research Service, Food-Related Time Use: Changes and Demographic Differences

Most Think Census Will Ask about Citizenship

Most Americans believe, incorrectly, that the 2020 census will ask about citizenship, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Whether this belief will suppress participation in the census, which is just a few weeks away, remains to be seen.

The 56 percent majority of the public thinks the census will include a question about citizenship, according to the Pew survey. Another 25 percent are not sure. Only 17 percent know that a citizenship question will not be on the census. By demographic segment, here's who knows there will be no citizenship question on the census...

—14 percent of women and 20 percent of men
—15 to 16 percent of adults under age 65 and 21 percent of those aged 65 or older
—18 percent of Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites, but only 9 percent of blacks
—21 percent of foreign-born Hispanics versus 16 percent of native-born Hispanics
—26 percent of those with a bachelor's degree and 13 percent of those with less education
—20 percent of Democrats and 14 percent of Republicans

Source: Pew Research Center, Most Adults Aware of 2020 Census and Ready to Respond, but Don't Know Key Details

Why Is the White Working Class Declining?

The white working class is shrinking, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The question is why. The St. Louis Fed analysis defines the white working class as non-Hispanic whites without a four-year college degree. The number of working class whites peaked in the early 1990s and has been declining in most years ever since. At the same time, every other major group in society—Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites with a college degree—has been growing. Working class whites accounted for the majority of the population until 2004. Today, they are a minority nationally, in three out of four regions, and in seven states.

What is the cause of the decline in the white working class? In the Fed analysis, the researchers looked at two potential causes. First, they examined the rise in "deaths of despair," which are deaths due to suicide, alcohol, or drugs. While the death rate from these causes has tripled among the white working class in recent years, these deaths explain less than 1 percent of the decline in working class whites, according to the calculations.

Then the researchers examined educational attainment. Bullseye! The number of non-Hispanic whites with a four-year college degree tripled between 1976 and 2019. The surge in educational attainment is resulting in a loss of about 1 million working class whites each year and explains most of the decline.

"To the extent that the decline of the white working-class population in recent years is due to rising college degree attainment, this population change can be viewed positively," the researchers conclude.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, The White Working Class: Declining Mostly Due to Rising College Attainment

Stressed Out? Join the Crowd

On a scale of 1 to 5, how stressed out do you feel? Here's how a nationally representative sample of Americans answered that question, according to an AARP survey...

1. 24% not at all stressed
2. 18%
3. 25%
4. 16%
5. 16% a great deal of stress

About one-third of the public feels stressed out (4 and 5). Also, about one-third of the public reports feeling more stressed out today than three years ago, the survey found.

By age, older Americans are the least stressed. Nearly half of 50-to-64-year-olds (49 percent) and those aged 65-plus (47 percent) say they are not stressed at all (1 or 2). A smaller 39 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds and 34 percent of people aged 35 to 49 say they are stress free. Among people under age 50, four out of ten report feeling more stressed out today than three years ago.

The biggest source of stress is finances, with 42 percent reporting money as a cause. The current political climate is second in importance, at 36 percent. The percentage who are stressed out by the current political climate rises with age, from a low of 31 percent among 18-to-34-year-olds to a high of 44 percent among people aged 65 or older.

Source: AARP, Dealing with Stress

100 Years of Baby Names

Over the past century, James has been the number-one most popular boy's name, according to the Social Security Administration. Between 1919 and 2018, nearly 5 million boys have been named James. The second and third most popular boys' names of the past century are John and Robert, followed by Michael, William, David, Richard, Joseph, Thomas, and Charles, to round out the top 10.

James is still a popular name. During the decade of the 2010s, it was in 9th place on the top-10 list. William and Michael were also on the 2010s list—in 5th and 7th place. The number-one boys' name of the past decade, however, was Noah. Also making an appearance on the top-10 list of the 2010s were Liam, Jacob, Mason, Ethan, Alexander, and Elijah.

Girls' names are more diverse than boys' names. All told, 35 million boys have received one of the top 10 names of the century compared to 15 million girls. Mary is the number-one most popular girls' name of the past 100 years. Between 1919 and 2018, 3.3 million girls have been named Mary. Other girls' names on top of the century list are Patricia, Jennifer, Linda, Elizabeth, Barbara, Susan, Jessica, Sarah, and Karen.

None of those names appear on the top-10 list of girls' names of the 2010s. Emma was the number-one girls' name of the past decade, followed by Sophia, Olivia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Abigail, Emily, Madison, and Charlotte. The name Mary ranked a lowly 125th in popularity in the 2010s.

For a look at how names have changed over the past 100 years, here are the three most popular boys' and girls' names in each decade...

The 3 most popular names for boys by decade
2010s: Noah, Liam, Jacob
2000s: Jacob, Michael, Joshua
1990s: Michael, Christopher, Matthew
1980s: Michael, Christopher, Matthew
1970s: Michael, Christopher, Jason
1960s: Michael, David, John
1950s: James, Michael, Robert
1940s: James, Robert, John
1930s: Robert, James, John
1920s: Robert, John, James

The 3 most popular names for girls by decade
2010s: Emma, Sophia, Olivia
2000s: Emily, Madison, Emma
1990s: Jessica, Ashley, Emily
1980s: Jessica, Jennifer, Amanda
1970s: Jennifer, Amy, Melissa
1960s: Lisa, Mary, Susan
1950s: Mary, Linda, Patricia
1940s: Mary, Linda, Barbara
1930s: Mary, Betty, Barbara
1920s: Mary, Dorothy, Helen

Note: Alexa was the 90th most popular girls' name in 2018, the most recent year for which data are available. This ranking is well below Alexa's peak a few years earlier. It was the 32nd most popular girls' name in 2015—the same year Amazon introduced its Alexa to the general public.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Names by Decade

Only 40% of Americans Like Winter

Winter is the season everyone loves to hate. Well, nearly everyone. According to a 2019 HuffPost/YouGov survey, 51 percent of Americans aged 18 or older have an unfavorable view of winter. Forty percent have a favorable view. The remainder are undecided. By region of the country, this is how people feel about winter...

Percent with a favorable view of winter
Northeast: 34%
Midwest: 24%
South: 48%
West: 45%

What about summer? Overall, 76 percent of Americans have a favorable view of summer, while just 16 percent have an unfavorable view. Here are attitudes toward summer by region...

Percent with a favorable view of summer
Northeast: 78%
Midwest: 81%
South: 72%
West: 72%

Spring and fall are rated even higher than summer. Fully 82 percent of the public has a favorable view of spring and fall, and the figures do not vary much by region.

Source: HuffPost, Winter is Objectively the Most Unlikeable Season

63% Rise in College-Educated Workers since 2000

Over the past two decades, the labor force has become much more educated. In 2000, workers with no more than a high school diploma greatly outnumbered workers with a bachelor's degree or more education. The opposite is the case today. Workers with a bachelor's degree or more education account for 41 percent of the civilian labor force aged 25 or older, while those with a high school diploma or less education account for just 32 percent.

Distribution of the Labor Force Aged 25 or Older by Educational Attainment

	2019		2000
	number	percent	number	percent	% change
	(in 000s)	distribution	(in 000s)	distribution	in number
Total labor force	142,448	100%	118,148	100%	20.6%
High school graduate or less	46,138	32	49,224	42	–6.3
Some college/Associate degree	37,421	26	32,844	28	13.9
Bachelor's degree or more	58,889	41	36,080	31	63.2

Behind the changing educational distribution of the labor force is robust growth in college-educated workers and a decline in the least educated. The number of workers with at least a bachelor's degree grew 63 percent between 2000 and 2019. The number of workers with a high school diploma or less education fell 6 percent during those years.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Millennial Wealth Is Below Expectations

The income and wealth of Millennials is lagging behind that of older generations at the same age, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The study examines the incomes and net worth of older Millennials, defined as those born from 1980 through 1989, and compares them to the finances of older generations when they were the same age.

The median net worth of the typical Millennial household is 34 percent less than expected when compared to older generations. They are behind by $12,000. "For someone at the beginning of adulthood, this is a lofty sum to miss out on," writes Ana H. Kent, a Fed policy analyst and one of the researchers. One of the reasons for the lower net worth of Millennials is that fewer are homeowners. Their homeownership rate is 4 percentage points below expectations.

But Millennials aren't suffering equally. The median household income of those with a bachelor's degree is 7 percent higher than expected, and their median net worth is only 6 percent below expectations—$55,000 versus an expected $58,000. The picture is not as rosy for Millennials without a bachelor's degree. Their median household income is 9 percent below expectations. Even worse, their median net worth is a stunning 44 percent below expectations—$14,000 versus an expected $25,000.

"For this generation of older millennials, having less money than older generations at the same age could be very problematic," concludes Hunt.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Are Millennials a Lost Generation Financially? and The Millennial Wealth Gap: Smaller Wallets than Older Generations

Occupations Dominated by Workers Aged 55-Plus

The older workforce is large and getting larger. Workers aged 55 or older accounted for 24 percent of the nation's employed in 2019. This is up from 20 percent in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In many jobs—such as flight attendant, economist, and bus driver—older workers account for more than one-third of the employed. In a handful of occupations, people aged 55 or older are more than half of the total...

Occupations in which more than 50 percent of workers are aged 55 or older
76.9%: funeral service managers
71.4%: shoe and leather workers and repairers
63.2%: legislators
62.5%: etchers and engravers
60.0%: embalmers and funeral attendants
56.9%: farmers and ranchers
55.8%: crossing guards
53.5%: tailors and dressmakers
52.9%: judges and magistrates

It is perhaps fitting that funeral service manager and embalmer/funeral attendant are in the short list of occupations dominated by the oldest workers. Who better to do these tasks than those soon to become the product of their labor? At the other extreme, the 55-plus age group accounts for fewer than 10 percent of bartenders, waiters and waitresses, emergency medical technicians, physician assistants, and computer research scientists.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2019

Median Household Income Falls in December 2019

Median household income fell between November and December 2019, after adjusting for inflation. The $65,666 December median was 0.8 percent below the November 2019 median, according to Sentier Research. "The relatively large increase in inflation over the past few months has had a negative effect on real median annual household income," explains Sentier. The Sentier estimates are derived from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and track the economic wellbeing of households on a monthly basis.

Despite the recent dip, "real median household income has continued to display an upward trend over the past 12 months (up 1.1 percent)," says Sentier's Gordon Green, "and especially since the low point reached in June 2011 (up 16.6 percent)." At the June 2011 low point—two years after the official end of the Great Recession— median household income was just $56,308.  

Sentier's Household Income Index for December 2019 was 105.4 (January 2000 = 100.0). To put this in perspective, the December 2019 median, after adjusting for inflation, was just 5.4 percent higher than the median of January 2000—almost exactly two decades ago. To stay on top of these trends, look for the next monthly update from Sentier.

Source: Sentier Research, Household Income Trends: December 2019

Most Older Homeowners Stay Put

Do older Americans stay in one home long enough to turn their home equity into an income stream, boosting their standard of living in retirement? That's the question posed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. To determine the answer, CRR researchers estimated the housing trajectories of homeowners aged 50 or older to see whether they had enough residential stability to tap home equity. The answer is yes, according to CRR's analysis of data from the Health and Retirement study. Most older Americans stay put...

Housing trajectory of older homeowners from ages 50-54 to death
53% stay in their home until death
17% move at the time of retirement, then remain in their new home until death
16% stay in their home until a health shock forces them into a rental or long-term care facility
14% are frequent movers

"These findings largely support the narrative from previous research: most people want to age in place and usually move only in response to a shock," say the researchers. Consequently, most homeowners "experience enough residential stability to make tapping home equity through reverse mortgages or property tax deferrals a financially viable strategy."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Are Homeownership Patterns Stable Enough to Tap Home Equity?

Giving Money to Adult Children, Aging Parents

Many midlife adults have it tough. Some are the parents of adult children who are not yet financially independent. Others have aging parents who are struggling to make ends meet in retirement. To help out, millions of midlife adults are giving them money.

AARP recently took the measure of these millions, surveying people aged 40 to 64 with living parents and/or adult children aged 25 or older. Respondents were asked, "Have you given any financial support to your [parents/adult children] in the past 12 months?" Here's how many had...

Percent of adults aged 40 to 64 who have provided financial support in the past 12 months to...
Parents: 32%
Adult children: 51%

The support is substantial, too. Among those who gave money to a parent in the past year, 54 percent had given $1,000 or more and 20 percent $5,000 or more. The figures are similar for those who gave money to adult children—56 percent gave $1,000 or more and 25 percent gave $5,000 or more.

Is it a financial strain to provide this support? For many, not so much. Among those helping parents, 43 percent say it is little or no strain. For those helping adult children, 47 percent say the same. But a substantial 28 to 29 percent of those providing financial support say it is causing them high financial strain.

Source: AARP, Midlife Adults Providing Financial Support to Family Members

Husbands and Wives More Likely to Share Chores

Wives are still more likely than husbands to do the laundry, prepare meals, and clean the house, according to a Gallup survey. When asked "Who is more likely to do each of the following in your household?" this is what heterosexual married couples report...

Laundry
58% wife more likely
28% both equally
13% husband more likely

Preparing meals
51% wife more likely
32% both equally
17% husband more likely

Cleaning the house
51% wife more likely
37% both equally
9% husband more likely

But responsibility for these chores is divided more equitably in 2019 than it was a quarter century ago. The percentage of married couples in which the wife is more likely to do the laundry fell from 70 percent in 1996 to 58 percent today. The percentage of married couples in which the wife is more likely to prepare meals fell from 63 to 51 percent. For housecleaning, 60 percent of wives were more likely to do the cleaning in 1996 and 51 percent today.

While wives are still more likely than husbands to perform traditional household chores, a Demo Memo analysis of American Time Use data (Who Does More, Men or Women?) has shown that there is near equity in the amount of daily time men and women devote to the combination of housework, paid work, and childcare. Men spend an average of 5.60 hours per day performing these tasks and women 5.35.

Source: Gallup, Women Still Handle Main Household Tasks in U.S.

Life Expectancy Is at a Standstill

Life expectancy in the United States was no higher in 2018 than it was in 2010, which makes the 2010s (so far) the first decade in modern history in which the lives of Americans have not increased. During those eight years, life expectancy at birth succeeded in climbing 0.2 years, reaching a high of 78.9 in 2014. Then, to the consternation of many, it fell by 0.2 years between 2014 and 2015—the first decline since 1993. It fell another 0.1 year between 2016 and 2017, but gained 0.1 year between 2017 and 2018. In 2018, as in 2010, life expectancy at birth in the United States was 78.7 years.

Life expectancy at birth in the United States, 2010 to 2018
2018: 78.7 years
2017: 78.6
2016: 78.7
2015: 78.7
2014: 78.9
2013: 78.8
2012: 78.8
2011: 78.7
2010: 78.7

A study by the National Center for Health Statistics takes a look at the reasons for the 0.3 year decline in life expectancy between 2014 and 2017. Most of the decline was caused by the increase in drug overdose deaths. In 2010, there were 38,329 deaths from drug overdoses. The number grew to 47,055 by 2014. Then things really got bad, with deaths surging to 70,237 by 2017—a 49 percent increase between 2014 and 2017. This surge explains the 51 percent majority of the decline in life expectancy during those years, reports the National Center for Health Statistics. Other causes of death contributing to the decline in life expectancy were Alzheimer's disease, suicide, homicide, and diabetes.

Drug deaths fell slightly in 2018, and life expectancy recovered a bit—but it's only back to where it was nearly a decade ago.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Mortality Data, Changes in Life Expectancy at Birth, 2010–2018; and Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2018