Income Losses Widespread by Metro, State

Americans everywhere have been badly hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey. Among all adults aged 18 or older, 48 percent say they or a member of their household has experienced an employment income loss since March 13. By metropolitan area, the figure ranges from a low of 41 percent in Washington, DC, to a high of 60 percent in Los Angeles...

Percent of adults in 15 largest metros with household employment income loss since March 13 
50.3% in Atlanta
48.5% in Boston
48.8% in Chicago
49.9% in Dallas
57.5% in Detroit
52.9% in Houston
59.6% in Los Angeles
57.5% in Miami
55.2% in New York
50.4% in Philadelphia
47.1% in Phoenix
59.2% in Riverside-San Bernardino
54.8% in San Francisco
49.2% in Seattle
40.8% in Washington, DC

By state, the percentage of adults whose household has experienced an employment income loss ranges from lows of 36 to 37 percent in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming to highs of 54 to 56 percent in California, Michigan, Nevada, and New York.

Source: Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey Week 6 (June 4-9)

Who Wants to Live Close to the Arts?

Location, location, location. That's what some people look for when choosing a place to live. They want to live in a location convenient to arts and cultural events, according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts.

But how many feel this way? To find out, the NEA added supplemental questions to the Census Bureau's 2015 American Housing Survey. For most Americans (62 percent), living near arts and cultural events is not important, according to the survey's results. But for 38 percent, it is.

In the 15 metropolitan areas included in the 2015 American Housing Survey, this is the percentage of households who say it is important for them to live close to arts and cultural events...

Percent saying it is important to live convenient to arts and cultural events, by metro area
57% in San Francisco
53% in Los Angeles
50% in New York
49% in Washington, DC
46% in Seattle
45% in Boston
44% in Chicago
43% in Atlanta
41% in Dallas
41% in Philadelphia
40% in Miami
40% in Phoenix
36% in Detroit
35% in Houston
33% in Riverside-San Bernardino

Among people living in nonmetropolitan areas, only 25 percent say living close to arts and cultural events is important to them.

Source: The National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts in Neighborhood Choice

Attitudes toward Public Transit by Metropolitan Area

How many metro residents are happy with their public transit system? It depends on where they live, according to the 2017 American Housing Survey, which was fielded nationally and in 15 metropolitan areas. One of the questions asked by the survey is whether residents agree or disagree that their neighborhood has "good bus, subway, or commuter bus service." Here is the percentage of respondents who agree by metropolitan area...

Neighborhood has good bus, subway, or commuter bus service, 2017 (percent agreeing)
75.4% in San Francisco
75.4% in New York City
67.3% in Los Angeles—Long Beach
65.1% in Boston
65.1% in Washington, DC
64.5% in Chicago
62.1% in Riverside—San Bernardino
61.6% in Philadelphia
59.7% in Seattle
56.2% in Miami
47.6% in Phoenix
40.4% in Detroit
36.5% in Dallas
35.6% in Houston
32.7% in Atlanta

Attitudes toward public transit vary not only by metro area but also by homeownership status within metros. Near the top of the list is New York, for example, where 87 percent of renters and 64 percent of homeowners say public transit in their neighborhood is good. At the bottom of the list is Atlanta, where only 50 percent of renters and 22 percent of homeowners give their public transit a thumbs-up.

Nationally, 42 percent of Americans think their neighborhood has good bus, subway, or commuter bus service—57 percent of renters and 35 percent of homeowners.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2017 American Housing Survey

Solar Panels Most Popular in Pacific States

How many of the nation's houses have solar panels? The 2017 American Housing Survey has the answer. Overall, 3.1 million occupied housing units in the United States had solar panels in 2017—or 2.6 percent of the total. This is the percentage of homes with solar panels by census division...

4.0% in New England
2.2% in Middle Atlantic
0.7% in East North Central
0.6% in West North Central
1.5% in South Atlantic
0.6% in East South Central
1.5% in West South Central
3.8% in Mountain
7.4% in Pacific

The 2017 American Housing Survey also asked about solar panels on houses in selected metropolitan areas. Here are the findings: in Riverside-San Bernardino, 9.7 percent of homes had solar panels; San Francisco 6.9 percent; Phoenix 6.5 percent; Los Angeles 5.0 percent; Atlanta 1.0 percent; and Seattle 0.8 percent.

Note: To see which states are in which census division, click here.
Source: Census Bureau, 2017 American Housing Survey

Metros with the Lowest Rates of Homeownership

Among the nation's 75 largest metropolitan areas, these are the 10 with the lowest rate of homeownership in 2016, according to the Census Bureau...

1. 47.1% in Los Angeles, CA
2. 49.9% in San Jose, CA
3. 50.4% in New York, NY
4. 51.3% in Las Vegas, NV
5. 53.3% in San Diego, CA
6. 55.8% in San Francisco, CA
7. 56.0% in Tucson, AZ
8. 56.0% in Fresno, CA
9. 56.5% in Austin, TX
10. 57.5% in Providence, RI

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership

Metros with the Highest Rates of Homeownership, 2016

Among the nation's 75 largest metropolitan areas, these are the 10 with the highest rates of homeownership in 2016, according to the Census Bureau...

1. 76.2% in Grand Rapids, MI
2. 74.9% in Akron, OH
3. 73.4% in Sarasota, FL
4. 72.2% in Pittsburgh, PA
5. 71.6% in Detroit, MI
6. 69.2% in Omaha, NE
7. 69.2% in Salt Lake City, UT
8. 69.1% in Minneapolis, MN
9. 68.9% in Allentown, PA
10. 68.7% in Birmingham, AL

Source: Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership

Mental Distress: Where It's the Worst

The CDC regularly monitors health conditions by state and metro area. Its latest analysis examines data collected in 2013—pre Trump, Harvey, and Irma. At that time, these five states had the largest proportion of adults who reported experiencing 14 or more days of mental distress during the past 30 days...

States with highest mental distress
1. West Virginia: 15.2%
2. Alabama: 14.4%
3. Kentucky: 14.3%
4. Oklahoma: 14.3%
5. Mississippi: 14.2%

North and South Dakota had the smallest proportion of residents reporting mental distress (7.7 and 7.9 percent, respectively).

These were the five metropolitan areas with the largest proportion of adults who reported experiencing 14 or more days of mental distress during the past 30 days...

Metros with highest mental distress
1. Akron, OH: 19.4%
2. Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA: 18.0%
3. Fort Smith, AR-OK: 17.6%
4. Winston-Salem, NC: 16.8%
5. Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS: 16.6%

The metros with the smallest proportions of residents reporting mental distress were Minot, ND (6.3 percent), Grand Forks, ND-MN (6.3 percent), and Sioux Falls, SD (6.5 percent).

Source: CDC, Surveillance for Certain Health Behaviors and Conditions among States and Selected Local Areas—Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2013 and 2014

Age of Housing Stock by Metropolitan Area

The average American household lives in a housing unit with a median age of 39, built in 1976, according to the 2015 American housing survey. The AHS collected information about housing in the nation as a whole, in the 15 largest metro areas, and in 10 additional metros. Here are those 25 metros ranked by the age of their housing stock from youngest to oldest.

Occupied housing units: median year built (and age of average structure)
Raleigh: 1996 (19 years)
Atlanta: 1991 (24 years)
Phoenix: 1989 (26 years)
Dallas: 1987 (28 years)
Riverside-San Bernardino: 1986 (29 years)
Houston: 1985 (30 years)
Washington, DC: 1981 (34 years)
Denver: 1980 (35 years)
Memphis: 1980 (35 years)
Miami: 1980 (35 years)
Seattle: 1980 (35 years)
Portland: 1979 (36 years)
Kansas City: 1975 (40 years)
New Orleans: 1974 (41 years)
Cincinnati: 1972 (43 years)
Chicago: 1968 (47 years)
Detroit: 1967 (48 years)
Boston: 1957 (58 years)
Los Angeles: 1964 (51 years)
San Francisco: 1964 (51 years)
Cleveland: 1958 (57 years)
Philadelphia: 1963 (52 years)
Milwaukee: 1961 (54 years)
New York: 1957 (58 years)
Pittsburgh: 1957 (58 years)

Source: Census Bureau, 2015 American Housing Survey

Measuring Rides and Rooms

Another day, another study of the gig economy—whose presence can be felt, but whose size and shape remain a mystery. That's because the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not measured what it calls "alternative work arrangements" since 2005 (it will do so again in 2017). To fill the gap, a number of economists have attempted to measure the gig economy by adding questions about alternative work to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Survey of Consumer Expectations and to RAND's American Life Panel.

Now researchers at the Brookings Institution have mined the Census Bureau's data on nonemployer firms (the majority are self-employed, unincorporated sole proprietors), and they find a rapid rise in these small businesses over the past few years—particularly in the transportation (rides, such as Uber and Lyft) and accommodation (rooms, such as Airbnb) industries. Most of the gig growth in these industries has taken place in the 25 largest metro areas, with 92 percent of rides growth and 70 percent of rooms growth taking place in the top 50 metro areas. But—and surprisingly—the analysis also shows that rides and rooms gigging has not yet cut into payroll (traditional) employment.

"These data lend credence to the contention that Uber and Airbnb are meeting unmet consumer demand or stimulating new demand through innovative service offerings," the researchers conclude. "Yet it is still early," they caution.

Source: Brookings Institution, Tracking the Gig Economy: New Numbers

Immigrants by State and Metro, 2014

Over 1 million immigrants were granted permanent legal residence in the United States in 2014. Fully 59 percent of those immigrants settled in just five states: California, New York, Florida, Texas, and New Jersey. The 53 percent majority settled in only 10 metropolitan areas...

Legal Immigration in 2014: Top 10 Metros
Total immigrants: 1,016,518 (100.0%)
Top 10 metros: 539,044 (53.0%)

1. New York: 174,714 (17.2%)
2. Los Angeles: 80,527 (7.9%)
3. Miami: 72,038 (7.1%)
4. Washington, DC: 39,531 (3.9%)
5. Houston: 33,858 (3.3%)
6. Chicago: 33,042 (3.3%)
7. San Francisco: 32,904 (3.2%)
8. Dallas: 28,780 (2.8%)
9. Boston: 24,026 (2.4%)
10. Atlanta: 19,628 (1.9)

Source: Department of Homeland Security, 2014 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics