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Data Report 3
High Country
Income
This is the third in a continuing series
of articles meant to provide demographic data and statistics
to local officials and local interests to assist in
their decision-making efforts.
Income Data for
the High Country
Back to the Census
The prior reports noted that the Census is an instrument
used to take a snapshot of the US population every ten
years. Everyone is asked the same basic questions (age,
sex, race, household relationship, and whether the home
is owned or rented) with a statistically representative
sample of the population getting a 'Long Form' which
seeks responses to an additional set of social, economic,
educational, housing, and employment topics.
The universe of common questions is released
in Summary File 1 (SF1) and has results published down
to the census block (the smallest geographic entity
reported) level. The survey tabulations are made available
primarily as Summary File 3 and 4 (SF3 and SF4) broken
into tables on population and housing. Each topic group
is divided into a series of components, part of which
are released to the census tract level (a relatively
permanent county subdivision with 1,000 to 8,000 inhabitants
quite often following political boundaries or visible
features) and others to the block group level (division
of a census tract with 300 to 3,000 inhabitants and
the smallest geographical unit for sample data).
How Information Is Gathered
The Census tabulates income primarily on three levels
of human interaction: household (all people who occupy
a housing unit--related or not or living alone--that
is not considered group quarters, such as a dorm, prison,
hospital, or nursing home); family (two or more related
persons residing together); and individual (on a per
capita basis). The Census gathers data on income for
the most recent, completed year, so the figures presented
in this report are actually for 1989 and 1999 earnings.
Where We Stand
Nearly 60% of Regional households earned less than $25,000,
according to the 1990 Census, while that figure dropped
to about 40% ten years later. During that same span,
households with incomes of $50,000 or greater grew by
16%. In the 2000 Census, the State had 10% fewer households
earning less than $25,000 and 10% more earning over
$50,000 compared to the High Country. Median and average
household incomes increased proportionately for the
period both at the Regional and State levels, but the
High Country remained at about 80% of the State figures
for these measurements.
The Sources of Our Income
High Country households combined to produce a $3.2 trillion
economic engine according to the 2000 Census, or about
2% of the North Carolina total while comprising 2.4%
of the population. Between the 1990 and 2000 enumerations,
the percentage of overall income in the Region attributable
to wages/salaries declined by 4.5% while the amount
coming from social security and retirement rose by about
3%. The High Country generates roughly 3% more income
from self-employment ventures than the State average.
We Are Family
The distribution of family incomes is categorically
higher than those for households in both Censuses for
the Region and the State. The proportion of High Country
families earning less than $25,000 declined from one
of every two families in 1990 to one in every four in
2000 with a corresponding 20+% increase in the number
of families with at least $50,000 income. The typical
High Country family went from earning three-quarters
of what the average North Carolina family earned in
the 1990 Census to just over 82% of that figure for
2000.
Individually
Per capita income reported by the Census took the total
earnings of all persons 15 or more years of age and
divided it by the entire population. The Region's individuals
noted a two-thirds increase in per capita income between
the last two Censuses and a rise of from 80% to 83%
of the same measure for the State. The average working
man in the Region earned 76% of his counterpart Statewide.
The average working woman did better proportionately
(82%), but still typically made only two-thirds the
salary of a man.
Cost of Living
The NC Justice and Community Development Center (www.ncjustice.org)
has developed a measure of the cost to maintain an austere
life style allowing for certain basic needs (food, housing,
health care) and realities (transportation, taxes) in
both an urban and a rural environment. This index is
adjusted for family composition and then relates the
total income that would be required to attain this threshold
to an hourly wage and the recognized poverty guideline
for the same number of people. According to their findings,
an adult with an infant or two adults with an infant
and preschooler in the High Country would need to earn
$500 more per year than the same average rural family
unit in the State, as a whole, to live at the same basic
level.
From a Decision Maker's Perspective
Whether looking at income from a household, family,
or individual perspective, High Country residents earn
less than their State-wide counterparts as reflected
in the latest Census. The Region accounts for a smaller
proportion of the State's income than it does of the
State's population. Income in the area arising from
wages or salaries has declined as a percentage of aggregate
household earnings over the last ten years and is 7%
less than the State norm. At least one gauge sees it
as more expensive to live in the Region than in the
average rural part of the State.
For decision makers, a key to sustaining communities
is attracting and retaining young adults (the report
on population projections indicated the State is anticipating
a 50% increase in 18 to 34 year olds, but only a 5%
rise for the Region over the next 30 years) One way
of doing this will be to encourage development of a
growing number of jobs that pay a livable wage. To recruit
and develop employment opportunities, decision makers
will need to work toward providing a base of trained
labor, a physical infrastructure capable of facilitating
the movement of goods, services, and ideas, and services
(water, power, and communications) to sustain these
endeavors.
For further information:
The Bureau of the Census has income-related information
on its website at www.census.gov . Select the AMERICAN
FACTFINDER link on the left-hand side of the opening
page, then DATASETS (again on the left), click on the
circle to the left of Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF3).
Of the choices then offered, QUICK TABLES provides a
profile of employment, income and poverty indicators
for the chosen level of geography. DETAILED TABLES allows
the user to choose from up to 230 population variables
and 160 housing options, again depending upon the level
of geography selected.
High Country Council of Governments maintains
information from this and other sources for each of
its member governments on its website. Click on the
Demographics and Statistics' link at www.regiond.org
or the selected county from the opening map and then
the 'Statistics, Population, Housing, Social Characteristics'
link for the desired county or town.
The NC Justice and Community Development
Center works to reduce poverty in North Carolina by
aiding individuals and communities to acquire the resources
and services necessary to advance toward economic security.
Their county-by-county index can be accessed from http://www.ncjustice.org/LivingWage/County%20LISmaster.htm.
*A Statistical Aside
The median of a group is found by arranging all constituents
in order from lowest to highest and determining the
exact middle occurrence so that half the instances are
on either side of it. Medians for the High Country have
been estimated using the following procedure in lieu
of having actual distributions to assess: 1) add data
for the seven counties to determine the grand total
and its component midpoint, sum occurrences for the
selected income intervals; 2) add the interval totals
to determine which grouping is closest to, but does
not exceed the median; 3) determine the percentage of
the next interval that it would take to reach the midpoint
and add that percentage of the dollars in that interval
to the previously calculated total, albeit this assumes
an ideal distribution for this interval, so the result
is actually only an approximation.
Data
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