A Father's Delight

It is sometimes surprising what the government asks Americans to reveal about themselves. And lucky for us demographers, Americans seem willing to tell all. The latest example: A survey taken by the National Center for Education Statistics asks fathers a series of questions to determine how much "delight" they get from their children. And the answer is—a lot.

Called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the survey's purpose is to test the effects of family, school, community, and individual variables on children's development. Biological fathers living with children born in 2001 were asked about their feelings towards their child, creating indicators of "delight." The results show how involved today's fathers are in child care, both emotionally and physically.

Two-thirds of fathers think it's more fun to get their child something new than to get something for themselves. An equally large percentage of fathers carry pictures of their child with them wherever they go, and 69 percent talk a lot about their child to friends and family. Three out of four fathers always find themselves thinking about their child. Eighty-five percent of fathers think holding and cuddling their child is fun, and 84 percent strongly agree that fatherhood is a highly rewarding experience.

Most fathers strongly agree that they should be as heavily involved as the mother in the care of their child. Seventy-nine percent rate themselves as a "very good" or "better than average" father. Only 2 percent say they have "some trouble" being a father.

Bet You Didn't Know

Percent of adults who read books every day: 32

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Adult Literacy

How Americans Get to Work

Drive alone: 79 percent
Carpool: 9 percent
Mass transit: 4 percent
Work at home: 3 percent
Walk: 2 percent

Source: 2005 American Housing Survey

The Cost of College

Paying for college is more painful in some states than others. The Census Bureau's State and Metropolitan Area Data Book: 2006 shows just how much it hurts. One year of tuition, room, and board at a four-year public university ranges from a high of $15,109 in New Jersey to a low of $7,494 in Louisiana. In other words, it costs twice as much to go to college in New Jersey as it does in Louisiana. But household incomes are also much higher in New Jersey, reducing the burden on state residents.

Here's a better way to calculate the pain of paying for college—determine what proportion of median household income is required to pay for one year of in-state tuition, room, and board at a four-year public university. Nationally, the figure is 24.6 percent, with median household income at $43,564 in 2003 and one year of college at a public university costing $10,720. In many states the proportion is much higher, with Vermont (33.8 percent), Pennsylvania (33.2 percent), and South Carolina (33.0 percent) the most expensive. In five states, one year of college requires less than 20 percent of household income. Wyoming (19.6 percent), Colorado (19.3 percent), Alaska (19.3 percent), Hawaii (17.2 percent), and Utah (16.8 percent) have the lowest college costs relative to household income.

Food for Thought

Asian American are much less likely than the average American to be overweight—only 31 percent of Asians are overweight, well below the 59 percent majority of all Americans who are overweight.

Here's why Asians may be better able to control their weight. An analysis of household spending published in the Monthly Labor Review reveals the top three items on which Asian households spend the most in the grocery store: fresh vegetables, seafood, and fresh fruit. A nutritionist's dream! In contrast, here are the top three grocery items on which everyone else spends the most: baked products, beef, and dairy.

Bigger Houses

It's easy to keep up with housing trends if you know where to look. The Census Bureau keeps tabs on new housing and provides lots of historical data as well. Here are some recently released figures for new single-family houses sold in 2005, with comparisons to 1995.

Median square feet
2005: 2,235
1995: 1,880

Percentage with cental air conditioning
2005: 92
1995: 83

Percentage with three or more bathrooms
2005: 25
1995: 14

Percentage with four or more bedrooms
2005: 42
1995: 34

Median sales price
2005: $240,900
1995: $133,900

A Record: Births to Unmarried Women

The number of births to unmarried women climbed to an unprecedented 1,470,189 in 2004, according to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics. Of the 4,112,052 births in 2004, fully 35.8 percent were born to unmarried woman. The percentage of babies born to single women has grown steadily for decades. Here's a look at the trend:

Percent of births to unmarried women:
1950: 3.9
1960: 5.3
1970: 10.7
1980: 18.4
1990: 28.0
2000: 33.2
2004: 35.8

Cool Research Link: Attitudes Online

Want to know how many are against the death penalty for murder, how Americans feel about banning the Bible in public schools, or whether Americans think homosexuals should be allowed to teach at the nation's colleges? Now you can find out by delving into the National Opinion Research Center's highly respected General Social Survey (GSS) online. This survey, fielded every two years, has been collecting attitudinal data since 1972.

Until now, tapping into GSS results has been difficult, limited to academic researchers with the expertise to run statistical programs to unlock the database. To the rescue comes the Computer Assisted Survey Methods Program at the University of California, Berkeley, creating web-based programs for analysis of survey data. Its online application allows you to choose a GSS question and get an answer in table and chart format. You can explore attitudes and how they have changed from as far back as 1972 up to 2004. You can also explore attitudes by demographic segment, including gender, age, race, and political party.

How many Americans are against the death penalty for murder? Thirty-two percent in 2004, up from 21 percent in 1990. Only 36 percent of Americans want to ban the Bible in public schools, but among college graduates the 51 percent majority thinks the Bible should be banned. And 65 percent of Americans think it's OK for homosexuals to teach at the nation's colleges and universities—up from 53 percent thirty years ago.

Bet You Didn't Know

Percent change in U.S. population since 1960: 62
Percent change in U.S. licensed drivers since 1960: 125
Percent change in U.S. passenger vehicles since 1960: 212

Source: Federal Highway Administration

Are We Eating Ourselves into Disability?

A look at the latest disability statistics reveals a disturbing figure: nearly one in ten Americans has trouble walking or using stairs, according to the new report on disability released by the Census Bureau. A substantial 11 percent of people aged 15 or older have difficulty with these basic physical tasks. Among people aged 25 to 64, who cannot claim age as an excuse for their disability, a still substantial 8 percent—or nearly one in 12—has trouble walking or using stairs.

Difficulties walking and climbing stairs are the most common disabilities, and Americans' growing girth certainly plays a role in turning these basic functions into daily challenges. With apparently no end in sight to the American weight gain, these difficulties are likely to have a growing impact on shopping malls, theme parks, museums, public transportation, and disaster preparedness.

The End of Retirement

"The years 1965–1999 were the closest thing to economic 'golden years' ever seen by this nation for those moving into retirement, and they will likely never be matched again for the bulk of the population unless savings behavior changes radically."

Those chilling words were issued last month by Dallas Salisbury, president of the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute, in support of the PBS Frontline documentary "Can You Afford to Retire?" The documentary examined how prepared baby boomers are for retirement (answer: NOT) as defined benefit pension plans become scarce and savings remain shockingly low for the minority who participate in defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s. If you haven't seen the Frontline show yet, you can watch it online through the PBS website.

The documentary concludes with the ominous warning that the retirement of the baby-boom generation is, in fact, the end of retirement because most boomers will find they cannot retire and maintain any semblance of their middle-class standard of living. Consequently, most will be forced to work to make ends meet. What are the political implications of the impending downward spiral of today's comfortable middle class? What will happen when disability overtakes working boomers in old age? How will younger generations respond to the growing destitution of their aging parents?

Stay tuned, because that appears to be the next installment in the boomer narrative.

Bet You Didn't Know

Percentage of children who live with their father: 72

Source: The Millennials: Americans Born 1977 to 1994

New Orleans Before and After

Most of the time, demographic change occurs at a plodding pace. Some even say demography is dull. But a look at the before and after demographics of the New Orleans metropolitan area is anything but dull. To witness demographic upheaval on this magnitude in the United States is a once in a lifetime opportunity—or at least we hope so.

Following Hurricane Katrina, FEMA designated 117 counties as disaster areas. In a special effort to determine just what happened to the population in those areas, the Census Bureau took its 2005 American Community Survey, fielded each year throughout the U.S., and broke it into two pieces in the 117 disaster counties—the eight months before Katrina (January through August 2005) and the four months following Katrina (September through December 2005). The results of the analysis are available in detail here. Below are some of the more astonishing changes in the New Orleans metropolitan area during 2005.

Population (in the 8 months) before Katrina: 1,190,615
Population (in the 4 months) after Katrina: 723,830
New Orleans lost a stunning 466,785 people, or 39 percent of its population.

Civilian labor force before Katrina: 599,172
Civilian labor force after Katrina: 342,625
New Orleans lost more than a quarter million workers, or 43 percent of its labor force.

People enrolled in school before Katrina: 312,899
People enrolled in school after Katrina: 170,269
The number of students in metropolitan New Orleans plunged 46 percent.

Blacks as a share of the metropolitan area before Katrina: 37 percent
Blacks as a share of the metropolitan area after Katrina: 22 percent
The white share of the population grew from 59 to 73 percent.

Percentage of people living in poverty before Katrina: 16.9 percent
Percentage of people living in poverty after Katrina: 12.7 percent
Median household income climbed from $39,793 to $43,447.

Households with no vehicles available to them before Katrina: 13.6 percent
Households with no vehicles available to them after Katrina: 5.8 percent

P.S. It is impressive that the Census Bureau is collecting this type of information at all. It is remarkable that the bureau is flexible enough to change procedures in midstream and provide us with a database of such historic importance.

Bet You Didn't Know

Percentage of women aged 15 to 44 who were married
before the first time they had sexual intercourse: 11.

Source: National Survey of Family Growth

What Men Want

Now we know. The latest National Survey of Family Growth asked men, for the first time, about their fertility, contraceptive use, and fatherhood status. The survey, fielded every few years by the National Center for Health Statistics, typically examines in minute detail the sexual behavior and fertility status of American women aged 15 to 44. Now men in the age group are included too, with findings like this:

—Men aged 40 to 44 have fathered 1.9 biological children and 2.4 pregnancies.

—Percentage of men who have had their paternity established for at least one child: 14.

—Percentage of men with children under age 19 who say they are doing a "very good" job as a father: 46.

—On a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), rating fathers who do not live with their children give to visits with their children: 4.6.

—Percentage of fathers who strongly agree that the rewards of being a parent are worth it, despite the cost and the work it takes: 68.

—Among childless men, percentage saying it would bother them at least at little if they never had children: 88.

The complete report can be downloaded here.

Ten Million Need Help, Most Get It

Ten million Americans aged 15 or older not living in nursing homes or other institutions need help from others to live independently, according to a new report on disability from the Census Bureau. Getting around inside the house, eating, dressing, preparing meals, going outside alone, and walking are some of the tasks they cannot do themselves.

Among those needing help, the 63 percent majority get help only from relatives, 20 percent receive help from both relatives and nonrelatives, 15 percent from nonrelatives only, and 2 percent have no helpers. Fully 89 percent of those receiving help pay nothing for the service.

The Long Wait for Marriage

If today's young adults postpone sexual intimacy until marriage, they have a long wait. The median age at first marriage among women reached 25.8 years in 2005, according to the latest family and living arrangement data released today by the Census Bureau. That's five years longer than the virtuous women of 1970 had to wait, when the median age at first marriage was just 20.8 years. For men, the median age at first marriage climbed from 23.2 to 27.1 years between 1970 and 2005.

Who Doesn't Speak English?

Fifty million Americans (19 percent of the population aged 5 or older) speak a language other than English at home. While this is a substantial percentage of the population, it is no cause for alarm. Most also speak English "very well," according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Only 8 percent of U.S. residents do not speak English very well.

Among the nation's 31 million residents who speak Spanish at home, the 52 percent majority speak English very well. Among children aged 5 to 17 who speak Spanish at home, fully 71 percent speak English very well.

Least likely to speak English are people aged 65 or older who speak an Asian language at home. Only 26 percent speak English very well.

Bet You Didn't Know

Among U.S. workers, average travel time to work: 24.7 minutes.

Source: American Community Survey

Q & A: Why the Hysteria over Immigration?

The increasingly shrill discussion about immigration is nothing new. Every decade or so, the public and the politicians engage in a heated debate over immigration and what to do about it. This time around, however, the debate has been joined to an unprecedented degree by immigrants themselves. This is the first flexing of the Hispanic muscle that will increasingly define the United States.

Just in time to inform the immigration debate, the Census Bureau has released mid-decade population estimates, showing the contribution of immigrants to our population growth. Immigration accounted for 42 percent of the increase in the U.S. population between 2000 and 2005 (the other 58 percent was due to natural increase—or births minus deaths). Hispanics are the 51 percent majority of those immigrants. The engine of Hispanic growth is not just immigration, but natural increase as well. All told, Hispanics account for half of the entire increase in the U.S. population since 2000.

As of July 1, 2005, the nation's 43 million Hispanics accounted for 14 percent of the population—not a particularly large figure, but in combination with blacks, Asians, and other minorities the share climbs to a more impressive and potentially powerful 33 percent. This is an important number. When I was in graduate school, I read an essay (by a demographer whose name I no longer recall—if any readers know who this was, please remind me) theorizing that when a group reaches the one-third level in a society, it becomes a political force. At the one-third level, it needs only a relatively small slice of the rest of the population to create its own majority, allowing it to win elections.

Of course the nation's minorities are a long way from adding up to one-third of voters, since many are not citizens and cannot vote. But they can march in the streets, stir up the opposition, and shape public policy.