2011 Three Year Estimates Released !

Each year, the Census Bureau releases three versions of the American Communities Survey (ACS). These are the 1-Year, the 3-Year, and the 5-Year ACS Estimates. These are released based on the population size of the municipality. Five year estimates are released for EVERY level of census geography (down to the block group level) as well as every municipality (think town, city, and village). Three year estimates are only released for geographies or municipalities with a MINIMUM population of 20,000 persons. So many smaller villages and towns are excluded. One year estimates are released for municipalities with a MINIMUM population of 65,000. This means they are mostly for counties and larger cities. For our region, ONLY ONEIDA COUNTY HAS SINGLE YEAR ESTIMATES AVAILABLE.

The most recent 3-Year Estimates are now a permanent part of this blog in the linked area just below the title above. A permanent link will take you to the most recent 3 year estimates post so you can always easily find this important data for both Oneida Counties !

Below are the individual links to the 2011Demographic, Social, Economic and Housing Profiles for the 2011 Three Year ACS Estimates for Herkimer and Oneida Counties.


2011 OC ACS 3 Year Estimate Demographic Profile
2011 OC ACS 3 Year Estimate Social Profile
2011 OC ACS 3 Year Estimate Economic Profile
2011 OC ACS 3 Year Estimate Housing Profile


2011 HC ACS 3 Year Estimate Demographic Profile
2011 HC ACS 3 Year Estimate Social Profile
2011 HC ACS 3 Year Estimate Economic Profile
2011 HC ACS 3 Year Estimate Housing Profile

Single Year ACS Data for Oneida County (2012)

Each year, the Census Bureau releases three versions of the American Communities Survey (ACS). These are the 1-Year, the 3-Year, and the 5-Year ACS Estimates. These are released based on the population size of the municipality. Five year estimates are released for EVERY level of census geography (down to the block group level) as well as every municipality (think town, city, and village). Three year estimates are only released for geographies or municipalities with a MINIMUM population of 20,000 persons. So many smaller villages and towns are excluded. One year estimates are released for municipalities with a MINIMUM population of 65,000. This means they are mostly for counties and larger cities. For our region, ONLY ONEIDA COUNTY HAS SINGLE YEAR ESTIMATES AVAILABLE.

The most recent 1-Year Estimates are now a permanent part of this blog in the linked area just below the title above. A permanent link will take you to the most recent 1 year estimates post so you can always easily find this important data for both Oneida Counties !

Below are the individual links to the Demographic, Social, Economic and Housing Profiles for the 1 Year ACS Estimates for Oneida County.


2012 Oneida County ACS 1 Year Demographic Profile

2012 Oneida County ACS 1 Year Social Profile

2012 Oneida County ACS 1 Year Economic Profile

2012 Oneida County ACS 1 Year Housing Profile

Internet Access and Usage Statistics By State

Finding data on accessing and use of the internet is very difficult. However tables recently released from the US Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) School Enrollment and Internet Use Supplement do provide some insights.

The tables display national and state level data and examine householder and individual characteristics by school enrollment, age, race, sex and Hispanic origin. Additional tables use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine how and why people connect to the Internet. The CPS has been collecting data on computers and Internet use periodically since 1984. SIPP data on this subject have been collected since 1998.

These data tables appear on the  US Census Computer and Internet Use page.

Urbanized Areas and Density in New York State

The Program on Applied Demographics (PAD) brings skills in demographics, economics, statistics, data gathering and data analysis together to provide a variety of organizations with data, information and advice. PAD works closely with the New York State Department of Economic Development, the U.S. Census Bureau and other organizations to assist them in their activities.


In an effort to help policy makers see their present (and past) urbanized area, and get a feel for the density of the population in those areas, PAD created a series of maps that do just that ! They are located in a pdf file on the Applied Demographics website.

NYS DOL Regional Business Expansions and Contractions Data

The NYS Department of Labor website has some great basic data - all the things you'd expect such as number of employed full time and part time workforce, unemployment rates, etc. All of this data is searchable by region. For Herkimer and Oneida Counties, you need to look at the Labor Statistics for the Mohawk Valley.

Buried within that page is some interesting data on business expansions and contractions. These are available by county. The Mohawk Valley contains six counties as conceived by the DOL - Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie Counties. The data on the website provides information on firm-specific hiring and layoff announcements. Information in this report is derived from press releases, newspapers, business journals, newsletters, and other public sources. It does not include all expansions and contractions, only those for which public information has been obtained. An attempt is made to present only current information events that have recently occurred or will in the near future.

So while there is some limitation to what it is that you can see, it still provides a nice summary of what businesses have been (at least publicly) expanding or contracting.

Happy Birthday to Us ! Happy Birthday to Us !

I found this fascinating infographic on The Daily Viz about how common each day of the year is for birthdays in the United States. I say fascinating because while it is sort of interesting to look at your own birth date (mine happens to be January 1st) and see how unique or how common yours is, it is the patterns in the chart that intrigue me.

For example, clearly one of the most common months for births is September, and in particular mid-September to early October. Think about that... Nine months earlier is more or less Christmas and the New Year's holiday season.

Then there is the lack of births around July 4th. Lots of vacations, not just for pregnant moms but also for doctors around that holiday. The same thing can be said for the periods around Thanksgiving and Christmas.Obviously people's celebrations have impacts on the likelihood of scheduled, and unscheduled, births.

Then there is the one that most caught my eye. Instead of looking at months, look at the dates - horizontally across the graphic. The obvious date with the least births is the 13th of any month ! And imagine if it was a Friday the 13th at that !

So while an infographic can be just interesting to look at on the surface, they often tell even more about human activities and values than one might think at first glance !

Census Director's Assessment of Impact of Budget Cuts

Here's is a link to the Director of the US Census Bureau's blog where he discusses the impact of recent passed cuts by the House of Representatives to the census budget and American Communities Survey.

In his words...

• The Appropriations Bill eliminates the Economic Census, which measures the health of our economy. It terminates the American Community Survey, which produces the social and demographic information that monitors the impact of economic trends on communities throughout the country. It halts crucial development of ways to save money on the next decennial census. In the last three years the Census Bureau has reacted to budget and technological challenges by mounting aggressive operational efficiency programs to make these key statistical cornerstones of the country more cost efficient. Eliminating them halts all the progress to build 21st century statistical tools through those innovations. This bill thus devastates the nation’s statistical information about the status of the economy and the larger society.

The loss of these important data sources could be devastating to local agencies and governments as they compete for fewer and fewer federal resources.

American Communities Survey Under Attack

The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week (232 - 190) to eliminate all funding for the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), which was a survey created to replace the traditional census long form starting with the 2010 Census.  The vote essentially was along party lines, with all but 11 Republicans voting in favor and all but four (4) Democrats voting against.  The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL).

In addition, right before the House considered the Webster amendment, it approved, by voice vote, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) to make response to the ACS voluntary, by prohibiting both the Census Bureau and the Justice Department from using funds to enforce penalties in the  Census Act that make survey response mandatory.

While this move in the House of Representatives is but a first step to stripping the ACS from the Census Bureau, it would still have to be approved (and assumedly brought back to committee) by the Senate and then ultimately approved and signed by the President. These seem less likely to occur but are not outside of the realm of possibilities.

The American Community Survey, which collects data on some 3 million households each year, is the largest survey next to the decennial census. The ACS—which has a long bipartisan history, including its funding in the mid-1990s and full implementation in 2005—provides data that help determine how more than $400 billion in federal and state funds are spent annually. Businesses also rely heavily on it to do such things as decide where to build new stores, hire new employees, and get valuable insights on consumer spending habits. 

The following two articles provide a variety of insight into last week's Congressional action. The first is from Business Week  and the other was posted by the Washington Times. Regardless of one's political perspective, one of the great dangers in the elimination of nationally collected data on everything from education, to poverty to miles driven to work is that agencies that rely on such data for grant applications will now have to figure out how to get it on their own. Much of the data can ONLY be found in the ACS.

Transitioning Into Retirement: Metlife Study Finds More “Boomers” Retiring at 65

Despite the popular belief that Baby Boomers will continue to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65, those born in 1946 are retiring in droves, according to Transitioning into Retirement: The MetLife Study of Baby Boomers at 65. This study is a follow–up to the 2008 MetLife Mature Market Institute study, Boomer Bookends: Insights into the Oldest and Youngest Boomers (released in 2009), which looked at the same segment of Boomers at age 62 and includes 450 of the same interview subjects from the original study. 

The study reports that 59% of the first Boomers to turn 65 are at least partially retired – 45% are completely retired and 14% are retired, but working part-time. Of those still working, 37% say they’ll retire in the next year and on average plan to do so by the time they’re 68. Half (51%) of those who are retired say they retired earlier than they had expected. Of those who retired early, four-in-ten say they did so for health reasons. The majority (85%) of respondents consider themselves healthy, and almost all (96%) retirees say they like retirement at least somewhat. Seven-in-ten (70%) like it a lot.

 In Herkimer and Oneida Counties, more than half of the residents age 65 or older are presently receiving some form of retirement income. In Herkimer County 53% of all people age 65 and over receive at least some retirement income; in Oneida County it is nearly 60% of the population age 65 and over. But not all Baby Boomers age 65 and over are retired. As many as one out of every seven residents (14%) age 65+ are still a part of the work force and employed. 

Click here to read the Metlife report on Baby Boomers and Retirement.

United Stats (Yes, Stats) of America: Tonight on the History Channel

Tonight on the History Channel will be the premiere of a new show entitled The United Stats of America. It is offered as a way to rethink some of what we think we know statistically about life in the U.S., as well as being a lighthearted and interesting way to get introduced to the statistics that make up our lives.

Randy and Jason Sklar were born a statistic: They're identical twins and stand-up comedians who also just happen to have an obsession with numbers and an amazing knack for finding the incredible stories behind the stats. The wisecracking brothers are the hosts of United Stats of America, which reveals the stories behind the most interesting and surprising statistics in American history—stories that tell us more about who we are as individuals and as a nation. Randy and Jason bring their irreverent brand of humor to locations across the country, uncovering hidden facts about America and Americans while engaging in stunts and experiments that help them uncover the story behind the stats. The Sklars will also utilize cutting-edge computer technology and visually stunning infographics to help bring these numbers to life.

Episodes explore the stats that help us understand how much money we make (and what we spend it on), how long we will live (and how we will die), what we do with our free time (and how to make more of it) and a whole lot more. In one episode, the Sklars explain how the deadliest animal in America is neither the snake nor the shark but rather the deer. In another, viewers learn that Americans waste 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic and that, in a nation with over 3.5 million square miles of territory, 99 percent of us are crowded into only 8 percent of the land.

So check it out on the History Channel at 10 P.M. tonight !

Business Dynamics Statistics in Herkimer and Oneida Counties: Establishment Births and Deaths

The Business Dymanics Statistics Program  (BDS) is a product of the U.S. Census Bureau and includes measures of establishment openings and closings, firm startups, job creation and destruction by firm size, age, and industrial sector, as well as several other statistics on business dynamics. The U.S. economy is comprised of over 6 million establishments with paid employees. The population of these businesses is constantly changing –– some businesses grow, others decline and yet others close altogether. New businesses arise to replenishing this pool. The BDS series provide annual statistics on gross job gains and losses for the entire economy and by industrial sector and state. Currently the BDS covers the years 1976 through 2010 These data track changes in employment at the establishment level, and thus provide a picture of the dynamics underlying aggregate net employment growth.

The Herkimer and Oneida Counties region (or what is known as the Utica-Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, or U-R MSA) has faced incredibly difficult hurdles over the last 20 years. With the closing of several major businesses, as well as the realignment of Griffiss Air Force Base (GAFB), the economic impacts on the region have been unprecedented. Below are several pieces of data from the BDS data base, as well as the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy . The SBA Office of Advocacy offers data through its Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) program to track establishment births and deaths, as well as the associated job creation and loss with each of those respectively.

For example, looking at the chart below, you can see how establishment loss spiked in the early and mid-1990s in our region. At the same time, new businesses moving into the area also dropped precipitously just prior to the decision to close GAFB, and then for the remainder of the decade following its closure.

Since the start of the new millennium, business births and deaths appear to both be increasing slightly, but in fits and starts.

 

So how do establishment births and deaths impact job growth in the region ? Well below is a chart showing establishment births and deaths just for the last 5 years worth of SUSB data (2003-2007). As you can see, in all but one of the years the number of business deaths outnumbered the business births regionally.

 

However, in three of the last 5 years there have been more jobs created by newly created establishments than lost by those that have closed. This is especially true in 2007. So it’s not just about the number of establishments created or lost, but the size of those establishments. 

In the U-R MSA, about 22.5% of all newly formed establishments are among companies of 20 or more employees; establishments of this size (20 or more employees) only make up about 19.7% of all business “deaths”. So the region is seeing slightly more midsize to large companies creating jobs in new establishments than they are losing.

Infographic: Startup Jobs Across the USA

"Start-up companies" are generally best described in the simplest terms - companies that have been in existence for less than 12 months. Start-up jobs are the jobs that those companies are looking to fill.

Here is an interesting infographic all about "start-up jobs" in the USA. Please note that size of the call-out boxes in the graphic where the jobs within states are being show. Visually, the size of the state call-out boxes and text seems to imply how big the numbers are for each state; however, that’s not the case and it’s misleading to the reader. Massachusetts, for example, had a higher number of start-up job posts than Texas, but the call-out text is much large for TX versus MA. That being noted, it's still an interesting look at where new companies are creating new jobs.

May Is National Bike Month

National Bike Month  is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons people ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, get involved in Bike Month and help get more people out riding too!


Sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists ,  the League offers six "Rules of the Road" that will prepare bicyclists for a safe and fun bike commute no matter where they are riding. These 6 Rules include:

1. Follow the law. Your safety and the image of bicyclists depend on you. You have the same rights and duties as drivers. Obey traffic signals and stop signs. Ride with traffic; use the rightmost lane headed in the direction you are going.
2. Be predictable. Make your intentions clear to motorists and other road users. Ride in a straight line and don’t swerve between parked cars. Signal turns, and check behind you well before turning or changing lanes.
3. Be conspicuous. Ride where drivers can see you; wear bright clothing. Use a front white light and red rear light and reflectors at night or when visibility is poor. Make eye contact with drivers. Don’t ride on sidewalks.
4. Think ahead. Anticipate what drivers, pedestrians, and other bicyclists will do next. Watch for turning vehicles and ride outside the door zone of parked cars. Look out for debris, potholes, and utility covers. Cross railroad tracks at right angles.
5. Ride Ready. Check your tires have sufficient air, brakes are working, chain runs smoothly, and quick release wheel levers are closed. Carry repair and emergency supplies appropriate for your ride. Wear a helmet.
6. Keep your cool. Road rage benefits no-one and always makes a bad situation worse. 

So how many bicyclist commuters are there in Herkimer and Oneida Counties ? According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey Five Year Estimates, there are roughly 300 people who commute on a daily basis to and from work in the region. Transportation to Work data for each county appear below.

Oneida County's Best Friends: A Census of Licensed Dogs

The Utica Observer Dispatch has a story in today's paper  about the fact that many older people often leave pets for someone to have to care for when they have passed away. It examines the issues of pet ownership among older members of our community, as well as the prospect of leaving a person's estate to their surviving pets.

For the most part, New York only requires the licensing of dogs by municipalities. According to the State,  all dogs over the age of four (4) months must be licensed.  In order to be licensed the dog must have its rabies vaccination certificate from a veterinarian. Licenses are acquired through the town or city clerk's office typically.


Dogs of course do require a lot of attention and work. But they also can provide a great deal of comfort, joy and satisfaction. This article by the Mother Nature Network  explores the benefits of dog ownership.

In Oneida County a recent inquiry to town and city clerks shows that nearly 15,000 dogs were licensed here in 2011 (five towns did not respond to a request for data). Below you can see the counts for the last five years in the County by municipality. For some years, records were either not available or too difficult to get to given the limited scope of this inquiry.

For Richer or Poorer: How States Fair In Federal Taxes and Benefits

The citizens and businesses in every state of the union of course pay federal taxes that ultimately get redistributed in many forms as government benefits. The table and graphic below, based on data regularly assembled by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, convey a feel for the direction of these transfers. The data clearly identify which states have donor roles in this process (states in which the ratio is below $1.00) and recipient states (those that have a ratio in excess of $1.00).

Night Shift: US Workers Getting Less Sleep

Nearly a third of workers in the U.S. aren't getting enough sleep, according to a new government report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, 30 percent of employed U.S. adults reported getting less than six hours of sleep a night, according to the CDC. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that healthy adults get seven to nine hours of sleep.

People who usually work the night shift — especially those in transportation, warehousing, health care and social assistance industries — were more likely than day-shift workers to report not getting enough sleep. Forty-four percent of the night shift workers participating in the survey said they got less than six hours of sleep, compared with 29 percent of workers with day shifts.

In Herkimer County about one out of every twenty workers works a late or night shift. In Oneida County almost one in twelve workers works the late or night shift. The table below shows the time that workers leave for work in both counties for both the Census 2000 and the American Communities Survey Five Year Estimate covering 2006-2010. 

Pain at the Pump: An Infographic on Gas Prices in the US

Although this was created based on data from early March, it does take an interesting look at gasoline prices as a percent of annual income.

Traffic Fatality Data Mapped for US

ITO World, a transport information specialist group based in the UK, produces mapping and visualizations to help people understand and analyze complex transport data. Their clients include Google, the UK Department of Transport and also many transport agencies and operators.

One of the mapping functions they have available shows traffic fatalities for anyplace in the US. The fatality data for the USA is supplied via the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Their site can be used to view information about virtually every fatality that occurred on roads in the United States as a result of a collision involving a motor vehicle between between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2009. For each incident you will be able to see the person's age, sex and the year in which the crash took place. Where information is not available fields are left blank.

To see local data, you can look at this map of the Herkimer and Oneida Counties region. To look at other locations, enter a place name into the search box, press return and then select the correct result from the results list. If the place is not listed then try a larger place nearby.

Earth Day 2012: Recycling in Herkimer and Oneida Counties

Managing the waste our region generates is everyone’s responsibility. Preserving the environment through recovery and disposal is the stated mission of the Herkimer Oneida County Solid Waste Authority. The Authority was created more than 20 years ago by both Oneida and Herkimer Counties who voted to create a comprehensive solid waste management system.

Components of this self-contained system include:

• Recycling
• Waste reduction - including a regional compost facility
• Waste disposal - including solid waste, hazardous household waste, and construction and demolition debris

Dedicated to advancing solid waste solutions in an environmentally friendly way, the Authority has pioneered the greening of Oneida and Herkimer Counties. This includes a regional recycling program that is regarded as one of the most expansive in the country that includes both school and community recycling programs. As a result, the Authority has helped our community become a national model for solid waste management systems.
Since 1991, the Herkimer Oneida County Solid Waste Authority has run its Recycling Center which  accepted recyclables from households, businesses, industries, schools, and institutions in the two-county area. Since opening, the Authority has processed over 700,000 tons of recyclable material.

In July of 2011, the Authority began the process of upgrading the Recycling Center. A new, state-of-the-art single stream processing system will take the place of the previous dual stream processing system. The project is expected to be complete in December of 2011.

The Authority is currently accepting all recyclable items- paper, plastic, metal and glass- mixed together. Plastic #7 has been added to the list of acceptable material. Items will continue to be added to the list of acceptable material as recycling markets are secured for additional items.

Here are some three charts showing the state of recycling in Herkimer and Oneida Counties in 2011. they come from the Solid Waste Authority 2011 Annual Report.

2011 Recycling Revenue	2011 Recycling Tonnage	2011 Recycled Hazardous Materials

Profile America: Earth Day 2012

April 22, 2012, marks the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day — a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The day came from reaction to a massive oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. In honor of Earth Day — and Earth Week (April 16-22) — this edition of Profile America Facts for Features includes examples of Census Bureau statistics pertaining to energy and the environment.

 

Collecting Waste

$1.6 billion

Estimated revenue for “hazardous waste treatment — radioactive waste” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 36.0 percent from 2009. 

Source: 2010 Sevice Annual Survey 

$715 million

Estimated revenue for “residential nonhazardous recyclable collection services” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 26.5 percent from 2009.
Source: 2010 Service Annual Survey

$2.5 billion

Estimated revenue for “building remediation services — asbestos contamination” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 22.8 percent from 2009.
Source: 2010 Service Annual Survey

 

Heating and Cooling the Home

2.2 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by wood in 2010, which is less than 2 percent of all homes.
Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040

38,010

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by solar energy in 2010.
Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040

57.0 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas in 2010, which is about half of all homes.
Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040

88%

Estimated percent of newly built single-family homes across the country with air-conditioning in 2010. In 1974, it was 48 percent.
Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing

 

Commuting to Work

25.3 minutes

Estimated average time for workers 16 years and older across the country spent getting to work in 2010, up from 25.1 minutes in 2009.
Source: 2010 ACS

31.8 minutes

Estimated average time for workers 16 years and older in Maryland spent getting to work in 2010, the longest commute time in the nation.
Source: 2010 ACS

16.1 minutes

Estimated average time workers 16 years and older in North Dakota spent getting to work in 2010, the shortest commute time in the nation.
Source: 2010 ACS

Working in the Nuclear and Forestry Fields

41,502

Number of workers employed in nuclear electric power generation across the U.S. in 2009. They had an average salary of $110,355.
Source: 2009 County Business Patterns

53,003

Number of workers employed in forestry and logging across the U.S. in 2009. They had an average salary of $35,127.
Source: 2009 COunty Business Patterns

 

Building a House

2,392 square feet

The average size of a single-family house built in 2010, down from 2,438 square feet in 2009.
Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing

$272,900

The average sales price of a new single-family home in 2010, up from $270,900 in 2009 but down from $313,600 in 2007.
Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing

9,000

The number of multifamily buildings built across the U.S. in 2010. Of these, 62 percent had at least five units.
Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing

 

Watching Nature's Fury

36.8 million

The 2010 Census population (as of April 1, 2010) of the coastal portion of states stretching from North Carolina to Texas ― the area most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes. Approximately 12 percent of the nation's population live in these areas.
Source: 2010 Census

15

The number of hurricanes to hit Florida's Monroe County from 1960 to 2008, the most in the country. The 2010 population of 73,090 was down 8.2 percent from 2000. Lafourche Parish in Louisiana and Carteret County in North Carolina have each seen 14 hurricanes from 1960 to 2008. Lafourche's population has risen 7.1 percent over the past decade while Carteret's population has risen 11.9 percent.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Census Bureau State and County QuickFacts

You Can't Get There From Here: In and Out Migration for Herkimer and Oneida Counties Within New York State

Data was released last week  by the Census Bureau through the American Communities Survey (ACS) showing the in-flow and out-flow of people on county level geography. The data, based on the 2005-2009 five year ACS estimates, allows policymakers to get a sense of who is coming to their county, as well as where former residents are relocating.

Below is a table covering both Herkimer and Oneida County migration within the state of New York. It shows the top 5 counties residents are coming from over the period 2005 to 2009, as well as the top 5 places they are going to within New York. It also has data on the top 5 most positive net in-state migration gains.

 

To see the complete in-flow and out-flow of residents for Herkimer and Oneida Counties within New York State, here is a table showing the estimated migration to and from each county (as well as the net impact) for our region.

Made in New York – Where Our Agricultural Products End Up Internationally

So an earlier post showed us the types of agricultural products we export from New York to the rest of the world, now the question is on whose tables do they end up ?

The map above, provided through International Trade Association and TradeStats Express, shows a thematic map of the world and where our agricultural products are exported to. It is basically broken down by quintiles, so the red represents the top countries we export agricultural products to, while the grey shows us those we don’t export to at all.

Note that the quintiles are quite wide ranging. In order to provide a little more insight, below you can see the top 10 countries that New York agricultural producers export to. 

NYS Agricultural Exports: 2001-2010

Just a snapshot of agricultural exports from New York State to the rest of the world over the last decade. Who knew wheat was one of the top three exports from New York State ? Or that soybeans were the second fastest growing agricultural commodity exported from New York over the past ten years ?

2010 National Teen Birth Rates From the CDC

There is interesting piece about teen pregnancy from the Centers for Disease Control on Yahoo News, and it does have some good news: teen births are at their lowest level in more than 60 years. The CDC reported that the U.S. teen birth rate dropped 9% from 2009 to 2010, reaching a historic low of 34.3 births per 1,000 teens aged 15 to 19. This is 43% below their peak in 1970. It attributed the drop to several factors, including strong pregnancy-prevention messages aimed at teens and increased use of contraception. But the geographic variation is substantial.

Teen birthrates are highest in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Arkansas, and New Mexico,. There are slightly lower concentrations in the neighboring states of Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Arizona. On the other end of the equation, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have the lowest rates of teen births.

Grandparents in the Herkimer and Oneida Counties ACS Data

The general consensus is that we, as a region, are growing grayer, which is a nice way to say are getting older. With the aging of the baby-boomer generation, we certainly expect to see our median age continue to rise. Since 1970, the median age for Herkimer and Oneida Counties has risen by about 11 years – from 31.1 years old to 42.1 in Herkimer County, and from 29 to 40.8 in Oneida County.

So it seems pretty reasonable to assume that people over the age of 65 are becoming a larger part of our makeup. The data, however, don’t show that to be quite true.

Let’s start first with the actual numbers. It IS true that if you look back, let’s say, 50 years ago to the 1960 Census, there were fewer elderly people (those age 65 or older) living in either county. In Herkimer County the number has risen from about 8,300 elderly living there in 1960 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. Similarly, Oneida County has seen a rise from about 29,000 people age 65 or older in 1960 to more than 38,000 in the most recent census. But those numbers are a little misleading.

ALL of the increase in numbers of elderly came prior to 1990. Between 1960 and 1990, Herkimer County saw its older population grow by about 2,700; in Oneida County it rose nearly 10,000. But in the twenty years since then, both counties have seen a decline in the actual numbers of elderly – roughly 200 fewer elderly were counted in the 2010 Census in Herkimer County, and about 600 fewer in Oneida County.

When we look at the percentage of the population people age 65 and over represent, it shows a similar pattern – a steady rise from 1960 through 1990, and then a flattening out of this age group as a proportion of our population. In 1960 older persons (age 65+) made up about 11% or 12% of the population. Now they represent about 16% to 17%. That proportion however, hasn’t changed much in the last 20 years. In Herkimer County it has remained dead flat at 16.8%; in Oneida County it as hovered around 16%.

So does this mean that the baby-boomers are not going to have the impact that we thought in our region ? Hardly. If we look at the working age population that is within 20 years of retirement age (assuming retirement age is 65 years old), we can see how the number of people that will soon be joining the ranks of the elderly is much different now than it was 20 years ago. In 1990, there were almost 60,000 people between the ages of 45 and 65 that were poised to move toward retirement. In 2010, we have more than 85,000 people in that latter stage of the “working age” range. So have no fear, the Baby Boomers are just around the corner from having their full impact felt.

So who are our present age 65+ seniors? Well, many of them are grandparents. The American Communities Survey now collects data about grandparents and their changing roles in our communities. To see both Herkimer and Oneida Counties data on grandparents (including their demographics, income, and living conditions) view the pdf from the 2010 Five Year ACS profile on Grandparents.

Profile America: Tax Day 2012

The US Census Bureau has a daily update they call Profile America. It typically has a daily clip that gives a snap shot of the history, as well as current state, of some relevant daily topic. Being April 16th, or the day that federal taxes are due, today's clip deals with tax collection and preparation in the US. You can go here for the audio file, or read the transcript below for today's topic.

Profile America -- Monday, April 16th. Debate about income tax rates ebbs and flows through the years, but has been especially heated during this presidential election year. Federal income taxes have been around since 1913, when the 16th Amendment to the Constitution gave Congress the right to levy such taxes. The first year, fewer than 360,000 returns were filed. Now, some 142.5 million returns are submitted annually. For those who don't like to compute their own taxes, there are nearly 112,000 tax preparation offices around the nation. Of these, close to 87,000 are single person businesses. We spend nearly $7 billion a year to have our taxes prepared. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

For other clips, visit the Profile America page at the Census website.

The Happiest (and Unhappiest) Jobs in America

When you think of a cheerful job, you probably don’t think of loan officer, warehouse manager, or accountant. But it turns out these are some of the happiest careers in America, according to online jobs site Careerbliss.com. CareerBliss is a career community dedicated to helping people “find happiness in the workplace and therefore in life”. In essence they are career counselors and help people find jobs.

CareerBliss compiled a list of the happiest, and unhappiest, jobs based on analysis from more than 100,400 employee-generated reviews between February 2011 and January 2012. Employees were asked to rate 10 factors that affect workplace happiness, including one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

The employees valued each factor on a five-point scale, and also indicated how important it was to their overall happiness at work. The numbers were combined to find an average rating of overall employee happiness for each respondent, and then sorted by job title to find which occupations had the happiest workers. A minimum of 50 employee reviews was required to be considered for CareerBliss’ Happiest Jobs in America, and executive level jobs, like chief executive, were excluded from the study.

Below are the 10 Happiest and Unhappiest jobs found by CareerBliss in the country.

2011 Population Estimates for NYS Counties

As noted earlier, the US Census Bureau has released the July 1, 2011 county level estimates for our region. Below are the estimates for every county in New York based on the estimates program.

Release of 2011 Estimates of Population from the Census Bureau

Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts its decennial census. In the non-decennial years, the Bureau produces and publishes estimates of the population for each state and county, as well as the nation as a whole. This series of estimates is part of the (no surprise here in its name) Estimates Program.

The most recently released estimate (the July 1, 2011 estimate) is the first based solely on the 2010 Census counts and what are referred to as the components of change. As estimates are produced each year between the decennial censuses, the entire estimate series is revised and updated. For each state and county, the Census Bureau each July releases annual estimates of the resident population by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. These estimates are produced largely through an analysis of three components of population change: births, deaths, and migration.

To estimate births, the Census Bureau utilizes birth certificate data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). NCHS provides final individual birth records for births occurring before January 1, 2010.

To estimate deaths, the Bureau utilizes death data collected by NCHS. NCHS provides final individual death records for all deaths occurring before January 1, 2010 by residence, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin of each decedent, as well as the place and date each death occurred.

International migration estimate has several parts: immigration of the foreign born, emigration of the foreign born, net migration between the United States and Puerto Rico, net migration of natives to and from the United States, and net movement of the Armed Forces population to and from the United States.

The Census Bureau also estimates net domestic migration separately for two population universes – those living in household and group quarters and for those in each of two age groups (0 to 64 years and 65 years and older).

For the 0 to 64 year old household population, the Census Bureau uses Federal income tax returns supplied by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to track person-level data on filers and dependents aged 0 to 64 years. Two years of IRS tax returns are matched and the addresses are compared to identify the number of individuals (represented by exemptions) who moved from one county to another between tax filings. A process is used to account for non-tax filers.

For the 65 years and older household population, the Bureau uses annual Medicare enrollment data for each county from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. As with the IRS data, not all U.S. residents aged 65 and older receive, or are eligible to receive, Medicare benefits. Therefore, a separate process accounts for those not part of the Medicare process.

To estimate the net domestic migration of the group quarters population, data from the Census 2010 is used, in combination with data collected from a special survey of these facilities called the Group Quarters Report.

To see all of the estimates for the country you might want to visit the Census Bureau Population Estimates web page.

To see some great analysis of NYS counties you may want to read this piece by Cornell Program of Applied Demographics.

Top 25 Countries From Which Foreign Born Residents Come to OC

Oneida County, and specifically Utica and Rome, are centers in which foreign born residents often reside. With the Refugee Center in Utica, the last 20 years has seen the county become home to many foreign nationals.

Below you can see the Top 25 countries from which foreign born residents are coming to Oneida County.

Cost of Living Data For Herkimer and Oneida Counties to Improve

The Herkimer Oneida Counties Comprehensive Planning Program (HOCCPP) has recently joined with the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) to begin collecting data to be used to establish a local cost of living index, or COLI. Years ago HOCCPP participated in such an endeavor when it was run under the auspices of the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association (ACCRA).

While cost-of-living data is available through the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), this data is not particularly relevant to most of upstate New York. The basis for the BEA cost-of-living data is a rather large geographic area that does include upstate New York. But it also includes all of New York City, Long Island, Connecticut, and most of New Jersey. It's easy to understand then how the living standards it measures in the greater New York metro area have little in common with the standards in the far more rural areas upstate.

The C2ER COLI is based on local market prices. For our region it would include stores and purchases made within Herkimer and Oneida Counties. This allows for far better comparisons with other metro areas such as Syracuse, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. Since each area's COLI is based on it's own local prices, the index becomes more meaningful for planning and promotional purposes.

C2ER helps regions that participate gather data on a variety of items to create the cost-of-living index. These include groceries, housing, transportation, health care, clothing and other miscellaneous items. To see a complete list of what items are priced as part of the COLI, take a look at their price survey.

Race and Ethnicity for Herkimer and Oneida County Towns and Cities

Attached is the racial breakdowns and ethnicity data released in the SF1 data of the 2010 Census for the towns and cities of both Herkimer and Oneida Counties. the data provides insight into the number of people with a single racial identity, as well as though selecting multiple racial identities. Also, there is data on the Hispanic or Latino self-identification of the populations of these various municipalities.

Urbanized Areas Released by Census Bureau for 2010 Census

Every decennial census, the Census Bureau releases reconfigured maps showing the new urban areas across the country. Urban areas, and especially urbanized areas which are a subset of the urban area, are especially important to local and regional governments since a HUGE amount of federal funding is based on this designation. Many federal resources have an urban component geared toward basing its funding awards on the size of the urbanized area being served. This is especially true of many highway and traffic safety programs.

In the Census 2000, the Herkimer Oneida Counties region lost two major parts of its "urbanized area" due to changes in the definitions at that time. Rome got excluded from the urbanized area and was re-categorized as an "urban cluster", while the main swath of villages in the valley in Herkimer County were eliminated from either category. While they remained "urban" they were deemed neither part of the "urbanized area" or part of any "urban cluster".

This exclusion of population from the region's urbanized area resulted in considerable loss of federal aid that otherwise would have been available. Simply put, fewer people in the redefined urbanized area resulted in access to less funding.

For the Census 2010, the main concepts of the "urbanized area" definitions in the Census 2000 were kept, with a few tweaks added. The result for our region is a similar looking urbanized area - one that shows a slight increase of roughly 4,000 people over the population found inside of its boundaries during the Census 2000.

Below, then, are three maps worth looking at - the NEW urbanized areas and clusters for 2010, the OLD urbanized areas and clusters from 2000, and a map showing the old areas imposed on top of the new ones for comparison sake.

2010 Urban Areas	2000 Urban Areas	2010 and 2000 Comparison

A Brief History of What It Is to Be Urban or Rural

Statistics have been split into urban and rural categories in decennial census publications for over a century. The definition of "urban" has changed over time in response to changes in settlement patterns, data use needs, and technology available for use in defining urban areas. The Census Bureau has continued to define "rural" as all territory, persons, and housing units not defined as urban. In the censuses of 1880, 1890, and 1900, places were deemed urban based on minimum population sizes of 8,000, 4,000, and 2,500 inhabitants respectively.

Beginning in 1910, the minimum population threshold to be categorized as an urban place was set at 2,500. "Urban" was defined as including all territory, persons, and housing units within an incorporated area that met the population threshold. The 1920 census marked the first time in which over 50 percent of the U.S. population was defined as urban.

The Census Bureau revised the urban definition for the 1950 census by adopting the urbanized area concept, to better account for increased growth in suburban areas outside incorporated places of 50,000 or more population. This change made it possible to define densely-populated but unincorporated territory as urban. The Census Bureau continued to identify as urban those places that had populations of 2,500 or more and were located outside urbanized areas. The Census Bureau also officially identified unincorporated places (referred to as census designated places (CDPs) starting with the 1980 census) located outside urbanized areas for the first time in 1950, and designated as urban any that contained at least 2,500 people within its boundaries. In 1960, the Census Bureau also adopted a population density threshold of at least 1,000 people per square mile for urbanized areas.

In the Census 2000, the Census Bureau adopted the urban cluster concept, for the first time defining relatively small, densely settled clusters of population using the same approach as was used to define larger urbanized areas of 50,000 or more population, and no longer identified urban places located outside urbanized areas. In addition, all urbanized areas and urban clusters were delineated solely on population density, without reference to place boundaries (for the 1950 through 1990 censuses, places were included in, or excluded from, urbanized areas in their entirety; exceptions were made for incorporated places containing substantial amounts of sparsely populated territory).

For the 2010 Census, the Census Bureau will be relying largely on what was established in the 2000 Census. An urban area will comprise a densely settled core of census tracts and/or census blocks that meet minimum population density requirements, along with contiguous territory containing nonresidential urban land uses as well as territory with low population density included to link outlying densely settled territory with the densely settled core. To qualify as an urban area on its own, the territory identified according to the criteria must encompass at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of which reside outside institutional group quarters. Urban areas that contain 50,000 or more people are designated as urbanized areas (UAs); urban areas that contain at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people are designated as urban clusters (UCs). The term "urban area" refers to both UAs and UCs. The term "rural" encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

Maps of Herkimer and Oneida County CDPs

Ok, so now that we know what CDPs are - Census Designated Places, meaning unincorporated communities such as hamlets, known by a commonly accepted name which have a variety of residential, commercial and retail areas - where exactly are they in our region ?

Well below you will find maps of each of our seven CDPs. The Census Bureau encourages the creation of such entities, so if you know and area that might make for a good CDP in the future, let me know !

Old Forge CDP	Chadwicks CDP	Clark Mills CDP
Durhamville CDP	Verona CDP	Washington Mills CDP
Westmoreland CDP