Data Dictionary: Census 2000
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Survey: Census 2000
Data Source:U.S. Census Bureau
Table: P56. Median Household Income In 1999 Dollars By Age Of Householder [8]
Universe: Households
Table Details
P56. Median Household Income In 1999 Dollars By Age Of Householder
Universe: Households
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Median
This measure represents the middle value (if n is odd) or the average of the two middle values (if n is even) in an ordered list of n data values. The median divides the total frequency distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median and one-half above the median. Each median is calculated using a standard distribution (see below). (For more information, see "Interpolation.")

For data products displayed in American FactFinder, medians that fall in the upper-most category of an open-ended distribution will be shown with a plus symbol (+) appended (e.g., "$2,000+" for contract rent), and medians that fall in the lowest category of an open-ended distribution will be shown with a minus symbol (-) appended (e.g., "$100- for contract rent"). For data products on CD-ROM and DVD, and data files that are downloaded by users (i.e., FTP files), plus and minus signs will not be appended. Contract rent, for example will be shown as $2001 if the median falls in the upper-most category ($2,000 or more) and $99 if the median falls in the lowest category (Less than $100). (The "Standard Distributions" section below shows the open-ended intervals for medians.)

Standard distributions
In order to provide consistency in the values within and among data products, standard distributions from which medians and quartiles are calculated are used for Census 2000. This is a new approach for Census 2000; in previous censuses medians were not necessarily based on a single, standard distribution. The Census 2000 standard distributions are listed below.

Standard Distribution for Median Age:
[116 data cells]
Under 1 year
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
.
.
.
112 years
113 years
114 years
115 years and over
Standard Distribution forMedian Contract Rent/Quartile Contract Rent/Rent Asked/Gross Rent:
[22 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $449
$450 to $499
$500 to $549
$550 to $599
$600 to $649
$650 to $699
$700 to $749
$750 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 to $1,999
$2,000 or more
Standard Distribution forMedian Earnings in 1999 and Median Income in 1999 (Individuals):
[35 data cells]
$1 to $2,499 or loss
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 to $12,499
$12,500 to $14,999
$15,000 to $17,499
$17,500 to $19,999
$20,000 to $22,499
$22,500 to $24,999
$25,000 to $27,499
$27,500 to $29,999
$30,000 to $32,499
$32,500 to $34,999
$35,000 to $37,499
$37,500 to $39,999
$40,000 to $42,499
$42,500 to $44,999
$45,000 to $47,499
$47,500 to $49,999
$50,000 to $52,499
$52,500 to $54,999
$55,000 to $57,499
$57,500 to $59,999
$60,000 to $62,499
$62,500 to $64,999
$65,000 to $67,499
$67,500 to $69,999
$70,000 to $72,499
$72,500 to $74,999
$75,000 to $79,999
$80,000 to $84,999
$85,000 to $89,999
$90,000 to $99,999
$100,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999:
[9 data cells]
Less than 10.0 percent
10.0 to 14.9 percent
15.0 to 19.9 percent
20.0 to 24.9 percent
25.0 to 29.9 percent
30.0 to 34.9 percent
35.0 to 39.9 percent
40.0 to 49.9 percent
50.0 percent or more
Standard Distribution for Median Income in 1999 (Household/Family/Nonfamily Household):
[39 data cells]
Less than $2,500
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 to $12,499
$12,500 to $14,999
$15,000 to $17,499
$17,500 to $19,999
$20,000 to $22,499
$22,500 to $24,999
$25,000 to $27,499
$27,500 to $29,999
$30,000 to $32,499
$32,500 to $34,999
$35,000 to $37,499
$37,500 to $39,999
$40,000 to $42,499
$42,500 to $44,999
$45,000 to $47,499
$47,500 to $49,999
$50,000 to $52,499
$52,500 to $54,999
$55,000 to $57,499
$57,500 to $59,999
$60,000 to $62,499
$62,500 to $64,999
$65,000 to $67,499
$67,500 to $69,999
$70,000 to $72,499
$72,500 to $74,999
$75,000 to $79,999
$80,000 to $84,999
$85,000 to $89,999
$90,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $124,999
$125,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $174,999
$175,000 to $199,999
$200,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Real Estate Taxes:
[14 data cells]
Less than $200
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $599
$600 to $799
$800 to $999
$1,000 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Rooms:
[9 data cells]
1 room
2 rooms
3 rooms
4 rooms
5 rooms
6 rooms
7 rooms
8 rooms
9 or more rooms
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs by Mortgage Status (With a Mortgage):
[19 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $199
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,499
$3,500 to $3,999
$4,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs by Mortgage Status (Without a Mortgage):
[14 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999 $1,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999 by Mortgage Status:
[9 data cells]
Less than 10.0 percent
10.0 to 14.9 percent
15.0 to 19.9 percent
20.0 to 24.9 percent
25.0 to 29.9 percent
30.0 to 34.9 percent
35.0 to 39.9 percent
40.0 to 49.9 percent
50.0 percent or more
Standard Distribution for Median Usual Hours Worked Per Week in 1999:
[9 data cells]
Usually worked 50 to 99 hours per week
Usually worked 45 to 49 hours per week
Usually worked 41 to 44 hours per week
Usually worked 40 hours per week
Usually worked 35 to 39 hours per week
Usually worked 30 to 34 hours per week
Usually worked 25 to 29 hours per week
Usually worked 15 to 24 hours per week
Usually worked 1 to 14 hours per week
Standard Distribution for Median Value/Quartile Value/Price Asked:
[24 data cells]
Less than $10,000
$10,000 to $14,999
$15,000 to $19,999
$20,000 to $24,999
$25,000 to $29,999
$30,000 to $34,999
$35,000 to $39,999
$40,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $59,999
$60,000 to $69,999
$70,000 to $79,999
$80,000 to $89,999
$90,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $124,999
$125,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $174,999
$175,000 to $199,999
$200,000 to $249,999
$250,000 to $299,999
$300,000 to $399,999
$400,000 to $499,999
$500,000 to $749,999
$750,000 to $999,999
$1,000,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Weeks Worked in 1999:
[6 data cells]
50 to 52 weeks worked in 1999
48 or 49 weeks worked in 1999
40 to 47 weeks worked in 1999
27 to 39 weeks worked in 1999
14 to 26 weeks worked in 1999
1 to 13 weeks worked in 1999
Standard Distribution for Median Year Householder Moved Into Unit:
[6 data cells]
Moved in 1999 to March 2000
Moved in 1995 to 1998
Moved in 1990 to 1994
Moved in 1980 to 1989
Moved in 1970 to 1979
Moved in 1969 or earlier
Standard Distribution for Median Year Structure Built:
[9 data cells]
Built 1999 to March 2000
Built 1995 to 1998
Built 1990 to 1994
Built 1980 to 1989
Built 1970 to 1979
Built 1960 to 1969
Built 1950 to 1959
Built 1940 to 1949
Built 1939 or earlier

Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Income of households
This includes the income of the householder and all other individuals 15 years old and over in the household, whether they are related to the householder or not. Because many households consist of only one person, average household income is usually less than average family income. Although the household income statistics cover calendar year 1999, the characteristics of individuals and the composition of households refer to the time of enumeration (April 1, 2000). Thus, the income of the household does not include amounts received by individuals who were members of the household during all or part of calendar year 1999 if these individuals no longer resided in the household at the time of enumeration. Similarly, income amounts reported by individuals who did not reside in the household during 1999 but who were members of the household at the time of enumeration are included. However, the composition of most households was the same during 1999 as at the time of enumeration.

Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Age
The data on age, which was asked of all people, were derived from answers to the long-form questionnaire Item 4 and short-form questionnaire Item 6. The age classification is based on the age of the person in complete years as of April 1, 2000. The age of the person usually was derived from their date of birth information. Their reported age was used only when date of birth information was unavailable.

Data on age are used to determine the applicability of some of the sample questions for a person and to classify other characteristics in census tabulations. Age data are needed to interpret most social and economic characteristics used to plan and examine many programs and policies. Therefore, age is tabulated by single years of age and by many different groupings, such as 5-year age groups.

Median age
Median age divides the age distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median age and one-half above the median. Median age is computed on the basis of a single year of age standard distribution (see the "Standard Distributions" section under "Derived Measures"). Median age is rounded to the nearest tenth. (For more information on medians, see "Derived Measures".)

Limitation of the data
The most general limitation for many decades has been the tendency of people to overreport ages or years of birth that end in zero or 5. This phenomenon is called "age heaping." In addition, the counts in the 1970 and 1980 censuses for people 100 years old and over were substantially overstated. So also were the counts of people 69 years old in 1970 and 79 years old in 1980. Improvements have been made since then in the questionnaire design and in the imputation procedures that have minimized these problems.

Review of detailed 1990 census information indicated that respondents tended to provide their age as of the date of completion of the questionnaire, not their age as of April 1, 1990. One reason this happened was that respondents were not specifically instructed to provide their age as of April 1, 1990. Another reason was that data collection efforts continued well past the census date. In addition, there may have been a tendency for respondents to round their age up if they were close to having a birthday. It is likely that approximately 10 percent of people in most age groups were actually 1 year younger. For most single years of age, the misstatements were largely offsetting. The problem is most pronounced at age zero because people lost to age 1 probably were not fully offset by the inclusion of babies born after April 1, 1990. Also, there may have been more rounding up to age 1 to avoid reporting age as zero years. (Age in complete months was not collected for infants under age 1.)

The reporting of age 1 year older than true age on April 1, 1990, is likely to have been greater in areas where the census data were collected later in calendar year 1990. The magnitude of this problem was much less in the 1960, 1970, and 1980 censuses where age was typically derived from respondent data on year of birth and quarter of birth.

These shortcomings were minimized in Census 2000 because age was usually calculated from exact date of birth and because respondents were specifically asked to provide their age as of April 1, 2000. (For more information on the design of the age question, see the section below that discusses "Comparability.")

Comparability
Age data have been collected in every census. For the first time since 1950, the 1990 data were not available by quarter year of age. This change was made so that coded information could be obtained for both age and year of birth. In 2000, each individual has both an age and an exact date of birth. In each census since 1940, the age of a person was assigned when it was not reported. In censuses before 1940, with the exception of 1880, people of unknown age were shown as a separate category. Since 1960, assignment of unknown age has been performed by a general procedure described as "imputation." The specific procedures for imputing age have been different in each census. (For more information on imputation, see "Accuracy of the Data.")

Excerpt from: Social Explorer, U.S. Census Bureau; 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary File 3: Technical Documentation, 2002.
 
Householder
The data on relationship to householder were derived from the question, "How is this person related to Person 1," which was asked of Persons 2 and higher in housing units. One person in each household is designated as the householder (Person 1). In most cases, the householder is the person, or one of the people, in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented. If there is no such person in the household, any adult household member 15 years old and over could be designated as the householder (i.e., Person 1). Households are classified by type according to the sex of the householder and the presence of relatives. Two types of householders are distinguished: family householders and nonfamily householders. A family householder is a householder living with one or more individuals related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption. The householder and all of the people in the household related to him or her are family members. A nonfamily householder is a householder living alone or with nonrelatives only.

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