With the new school year approaching, Social Explorer is taking a closer look at education data today and over the years.  In this installment, we are looking at some of the earliest reported census data related to education.

The Census Bureau first reported literacy data on reading and writing in 1840.  At the time, 91.5 percent of the adult white population (over the age of 20) was literate.

In 1850, the white literate population fell slightly to 89.8 percent.  Meanwhile, the illiterate free colored* population (41.3 percent) was over four times as large as the illiterate white population.  These literacy rates appear to be closely linked with school attendance rates.  That same year, 56.1 percent of white children (aged 5 to 19) attended school while just 17.1 percent of the free colored population (aged 5 to 19) attended.

In both the black and white populations, women were less likely to be literate than men, but the gender gap in literacy rates was wider among whites (59.5 percent of illiterate white adults were female; 55.0 percent of illiterate black adults were male).

However, children were attending school at similar rates (53.3 percent of white female school age children compared to 52.7 percent of white male school age children; and 16 percent of free colored female school age children compared to 18.4 percent of free colored male school age children)—a trend which would contribute to improved literacy rates in the coming decades.

To see the regional trends in literacy rates, you can map the data using Social Explorer.  For instance, take a look at these maps of the illiterate population (age 10 and up) from 1870 to 1930 to explore variations around the country and changes over time.

1870 Illiterate Population (age 10 and over)

1900 Illiterate Population (age 10 and over)

1930 Illiterate Population (age 10 and over)

For more information literacy rates for different groups, such as gender, race and foreign born, check out Social Explorer’s reports.  The census discontinued tracking literacy data in 1940, and focused more on educational attainment, which we will explore in our next feature.

We hope you enjoyed parts one and two of our back to school series.  Check back soon for part three.  We promise there won’t be a quiz, but data just might help you succeed in school.

*Early editions of the census used the terms “colored” and “free colored” population to describe African-Americans/blacks.  For another example of census terminology, see this post about Native Americans.

Earlier this week, Prof. Andrew Beveridge ventured to Las Vegas, Nevada, with Social Explorer in tow for the annual American Sociological Association conference.  Instead of gambling, he doubled down on demographics.

Beveridge presented the paper “Regional Spotlight Session (Las Vegas). Sustainable Las Vegas? Environment, Quality of Life, and Urban Living in the 21st Century,” co-written with Elena Vesselinov.

Beveridge and longtime collaborator David Halle co-organized the Section on Community and Urban Sociology Invited Session. New York and Los Angeles: The Uncertain Future.  Beveridge presented “The Demographics of Boom and Bust: New York and LA Metros, 1990 to 2011.”

Also, Social Explorer was also on display at the poster presentations for “Research Funding Opportunities and Data Resources.”

Thanks to all who came out to the conference and the panels, and remember to always bet on data.

With the new school year approaching, Social Explorer is taking a closer look at education data today and over the years.

The most recent available data (from the 2009 American Community Survey) reveal education levels and distinctions among groups, as well as the correlations between educational attainment, income and employment.

Lesson 1: Education helps with employment.

Civilian Employment Rate by Educational Attainment (25 to 64 years old)

It’s a tough job market out there for everyone, but especially for those with less education.  Finishing high school cuts a graduate’s potential unemployment rate by more than one third.  Earning a bachelor’s degree lowers unemployment to 4.5 percent.  (Getting too many graduate degrees may or may not help your employment prospects, of course.)

Lesson 2: Educational attainment and earnings differ by gender.

Educational Attainment by Gender (25 years old and above)

Looking at gender, men are outpacing women in education at every level except for some college or associates degrees.  However, trends in enrollment may shift this dynamic, which Social Explorer will examine in a future post on education over the decades.

Lesson 3: It pays to be a man.

Annual Earnings By Sex By Educational Attainment (25 years old and above)

Across all education levels, income disparities exist between men and women.  As the data show, this gap grows wider with more education in terms of dollars, but stays around the same percentage (approximately 42 percent higher for men).  (Certain factors may influence this trend, such as time taken off for child-rearing.)

Lesson 4: Education levels vary by race and ethnicity.

Educational Attainment by Race and Ethnicity (25 years old and above)

Data on adult educational attainment also reveals differences between different groups.  For instance, Asians earn the most bachelors, graduate and professional degrees, but are average for the number of high school dropouts.  Meanwhile Hispanics and Native Americans/Alaska Natives  are the most likely to have not graduated from high school.

For more information about different graduate degrees obtained, and detailed data on educational attainment by race and gender, check out Social Explorer’s reports.

We hope you enjoyed part one of our back to school series.  Check back soon for parts two and three.  We promise there won’t be a quiz, but data just might help you succeed in school.

In the New York Times article “A Rocking Chair Called Manhattan,” Constance Rosenblum examines the growth of New York City’s elderly population and the city’s appeal to older residents.  The story includes data from Social Explorer and analysis from Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge.

• Over 460,000 residents age 75 and over live in NYC, making up 5.6 percent of the city’s population.
• Nearly 100,000 of them live in Manhattan, where they account for 6.2 percent of the population.

Moreover, their numbers are poised to explode. Starting in January, when the first of the baby boom generation began turning 65, a boomer has reached that milestone every eight seconds.

The lingering effects of the recession and the increasing appeal of the city have combined to persuade many older New Yorkers to stay put, avoiding the financial, psychological and logistical costs of uprooting themselves.

“We tend to think of Manhattan as a city largely of the young and middle-aged, but that’s not strictly accurate,” said Andrew A. Beveridge, a professor of sociology at Queens College. “When it comes to old folks, New York is full of them. Their presence undercuts the notion that everyone goes to Florida.”

Of the 10 census tracts in Manhattan with the greatest percentage of residents 75 and older (upward of 9 percent), 6 lie east or west of Central Park. From the white-brick buildings on the East Side to the stately prewars of the West Side, both areas are rich in apartment houses with elevators, doormen and a profusion of neighbors, all prized by this population. Single women, who make up the majority, appreciate the generally safe streets.

For more on older New Yorkers, naturally occurring retirement communities, rent stabilization, roommate trends and government and local programs for the elderly, check out the full article.

Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge explains where detailed demographic data comes from in his latest Gotham Gazette column “Under a New Name, Census Data Stands Ready for Perusal.”

The 2010 census has been rolling out since February with New York state getting the first of its data on March 24 and more data releases during the summer. Yet, almost every day reporters, redistricting specialists and even other demographers ask when data to answer questions such as the following will be released:

• When will we know the number of immigrants in New York City and in various neighborhoods throughout the city?
• How many Hispanic citizens of voting age live in Washington Heights?
• Has the median income in Jackson Heights grown or declined since 2000?
• How many veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars live in Staten Island? In the Bronx? On the Upper West Side?
• Which recent college graduates are ending up with jobs? How much do they make? How many are living at home with their parents?
• Has the number of people working in finance increased?

The answer is simple and surprising: “All the information you need was already released on Dec. 14 last year.”

As you may recall, the census form you filled out last spring had just a few basic questions. So the data released on the basis of that can only include: number of people, dwelling owned with or without a mortgage or rented with or without cash rent, relationship to householder, sex, age, and race or races, including principal tribe or group, if Native-American, Asian or Pacific Islander. The other data — indeed the data that in many ways is the most interesting and heavily used — comes from the American Community Survey, or ACS, which is actually “the rest of the census” and was released in December.

Beveridge writes about the development, content and frequency of the ACS, and the differences between it and the old Census long form, which it replaced.

Beginning in 2005, the Census Bureau began to collect data for the American Community Survey, which is very similar to the old long form. That survey gets responses from about 2 million households and residents of group quarters (prison, dormitory, institution) every year, and tracks the same sort of data that was produced by the long form sample. The survey takes place all year and interviews, where necessary, are conducted by permanent staff — not the temporary workers who interview for decennial census.

Data from the annual survey are released in one-year, three-year and five-year files (with increasing levels of detail).  The multi-year files offer the most detailed data, but also cover the longest period of time.  For instance the five-year file includes data both before and after the financial crisis of ‘07-’08.

Beveridge also discusses flaws with the Census Bureau’s handling of sampling errors (resulting in potentially negative population counts) and the bureau’s policies on suppressing certain data.  A memo Beveridge wrote to the Census Bureau on the topic of their estimation of confidence intervals and its misuse, along with the agency’s response is available here.

Though not as well known as the Decennial Census, the ACS offers a wealth of demographic information and is available right now.

In sum, despite some differences between the American Community Survey and the old census long form data, the survey is in most ways superior. Not only is the data released more often and in a more timely fashion, but the numbers may be more accurate since the survey is conducted by a permanent interview staff. So the next time you cannot find the data you want in the census report look for it in the American Community Survey.

Click here for the full column. Social Explorer subscribers can access ACS data anytime through maps and reports.

While many parts of upstate New York are experiencing population losses, some areas of the Hudson Valley are growing.  New York Times journalist Peter Applebome writes about the shift and the people behind it in “Williamsburg on the Hudson,” which also includes demographic data from Social Explorer.

Call it the Brooklynization of the Hudson Valley, the steady hipness creep with its locavore cuisine, its Williamsburgian bars, its Gyrotonic exercise, feng shui consultants and deep clay art therapy and, most of all, its recent arrivals from New York City…

The migration north began with the weekender incursions in the ’80s and ’90s, gained a more urgent and permanent tone after 9/11, stumbled during the real estate bust and is now finding its way again. But, for all the images of upstate decay, the population of the Hudson Valley is growing more than twice as fast as that of the rest of the state — 5.8 percent over the past decade, compared with 2.1 percent for New York State and New York City. (While there are no universally accepted boundaries to the Hudson Valley, this reference includes the counties north of suburban Rockland and Westchester and south of the capital region: Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Columbia and Greene.)

Click here for the full story of the area’s history, transformation, newcomers and employment outlook.

Social Explorer wanted to find out how her monthly rent of $1,048.72 compared with what others pay.

Looking at the 2005-09 American Community Survey data on rent, Dunaway was indeed getting a bargain.

Assuming a three percent annual rent increase (an estimate based on prior lease rules for rent-stabilized apartments), Dunaway would have likely paid an average rent of about $933 per year (spanning from $878.28 in 2005 to $988.52 in 2009), or just 55 percent of the median monthly rent of $1,697 for the neighborhood.  During this time, her apartment would have been a good deal citywide as well, where the median rent was $1,029.

With rent consistently under $1,000, this apartment would have been less expensive than over 85.6 percent of rentals in the neighborhood.  For this Upper East Side census tract, median rent represented 26.5 percent of a household’s median income, so perhaps Dunaway was earning just $42,249.06 per year.  We may not be able to find out her actual income, but we do suspect this apartment had no wire hangers ever.

To learn more about this block and Faye Dunaway’s other properties, check out Social Explorer’s maps and reports.