Single and Multiple Race African Americans In Herkimer County

As we enter February, Black History Month, here's a breakdown of single and multiple race African Americans in Herkimer County.

Characteristics of Children By Household Types in Herkimer County

The following graphics were all based on the 2013 Five Year Estimates of the American Communities Survey (Table S0901) for Herkimer County as a whole. The focus for the most part is on children in one of three types of households: Married Couple households, Single Dad households, and Single Mom households.

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2013 Veteran Benefits in Herkimer County

According to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where you live may have an effect on the benefits you receive. NPR, together with member stations WBUR, Lakeshore Public Radio and KUOW, looked at data from 3,000 counties nationwide and found there's a huge variation in coverage from state to state — and even within a state — on how much the VA spends per veteran.

There are lots of explanations for these disparities. Some are demographic and beyond the VA's control, while others the VA could possibly address. Some of the range in benefits is because services cost more in different places. Other discrepancies are because veterans aren't accessing all the services they're due. NPR will be looking at these issues over the next week.

In the meantime, they provide this insight into veterans benefits in Herkimer County for 2013.

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To learn more about the characteristics of local veterans see this previous post from Memorial Day, as well as this infographic on the region's veterans !

Middle Income Households in Herkimer County

Based on the 2013 ACS data for Herkimer County, the graphic below provides some insight into income quintiles for household in the county. By breaking the income levels into quintiles (or five equal parts, each representing 20% of the households in the county), you can see that the middle quintile ranges from roughly $36,000 to just over $59,000.




Don't make the mistake of equating middle income with middle class ! Class definitions generally incorporate income levels but are rarely limited to ONLY a household's earnings.

Preparing for Adequate Retirement Income: How Close Are Retirees in Herkimer County to the 70% Rule?

A recent article by interest.com dealt with measuring people's fiscal preparedness for retirement. The study used income statistics from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to compare how those of residents age 65 and over are faring against pre-retirement households led by those 45 to 64.

Interest.com chose that comparison because, as they put it, "a rough rule of thumb is that you’ll need at least 70% of your pre-retirement income once you stop working. Some people will need more, of course, but few will be able to get by on less."

What they found was that "Older Americans are making slow but steady gains in income compared with their younger counterparts, but they are still falling short of the levels needed for a healthy retirement in all but one state. It's clear that, nearly everywhere in the country, older Americans still don’t have the kind of money coming in they need for a secure and comfortable retirement,” says Mike Sante, managing editor of Interest.com.

Below is a map of the US that they presented showing the "replacement income ratio" of each state. This replacement ratio is basically the median income of households where the householder is age 65 and over, divided by the median income of households age 45 to 64.Ideally it should be 70% or higher based on the 70% rule mentioned above. New York happens to come in at 54.98%.

Here is a table showing the Replacement Rate for Herkimer County based on the 2012 Five Year ACS Estimates showing the median household incomes for both types of householders (65+, and 44 to 64 years of age) as well as their replacement income ratio. Again, remember that the supposed goal is for older householders to make 70% or more of their slightly younger counterparts. The closer the rank to "1" the higher the county replacement rate. None of the 62 counties reached the 70% rate using the 2012 Five Year ACS Estimates data.

Herkimer County and Older Populations with Disabilities

The Census Bureau has released a report entitled Older Americans With A Disability: 2008-2012  which breaks out a variety of disabilities present among our older population members. Data for this report came from the 2012 ACS 5-year estimates. The 5-year estimates are ideal for conducting meaningful and statistically reliable analyses of special population groups, such as the older population with a disability, not only for the entire nation, but also for states and counties. The report examines the demo-graphic and socioeconomic characteristics, as well as the geographic distribution of the older population with a disability, with a focus on those in poverty or living alone.

One of the first things to recognize is what the ACS uses as a definition of "disabled". Below is a piece from their report laying out the six basic categories of disabilities that they measure.

Based on those definitions here is a map of the percent of those age 65 or older that are disabled for every county in the US. Click to enlarge the map.

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The following data provides insight into the age and type of disabilities for Herkimer County residents as well as the prevalence of multiple disabilities.

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Recent Herkimer County Migration Patterns Compared to Historical In- and Out-Migration for New York State

Recently the New York Times provided an interesting graphic about immigration patterns for each of the states in the US from 1900 through 2012. Below are the two graphs they generated for New York State, the first being for where people born in New York moved to, the second being for where people living in New York were born. Click on either to enlarge them.

Out-Migration for NYS

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In-Migration for NYS

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In comparison, here are two sets of tables showing the most recent migratory gains and losses for Herkimer County to other counties within New York State, as well as to counties in other states.

Mapping Herkimer County Persons Living Alone (2013)

The map below shows the distribution of single person households (a person living alone) as a proportion of all households by block group in Herkimer County. The block groups have been color coded as follows: ORANGE block groups represent areas where at least 50% of the households are comprised of a single person living alone;  YELLOW block groups have between 25% and 49% of their households occupied by a single adult; and WHITE (or unfilled) block groups have less than 25% of their households made up of a single person living alone.

These are based on the 2013 Five Year Estimates of the ACS. Click the map to enlarge it.

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Herkimer County Comparisons Of Young Adults: 1980 Census through 2013 ACS Data

The Census Explorer offers a new report and feature entitled "Young Adults: Then and Now". It looks at socioeconomic characteristics of 18- to 34-year-olds using the 2009-2013 American Community Survey and the 2000, 1990 and 1980 Censuses. The interactive data tool has estimates for the national, state, metropolitan, and county level of geography. Below is a walk through to get you to the Herkimer County data.

After clicking the link above, click the Explore! button:

This will take you to a page where you can then type in "Herkimer County" in the location box on the upper left:

This will bring you to the Herkimer County data and map. To see all the data at once, including comparisons to NYS and the US, click the "Show Full Report" button:

Tables include comparisons of 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2013 data on:

• Total population
• Percent non-Hispanic white alone
• Percent minority (Note: “Minority” refers to people who reported their ethnicity and race as a group other than non-Hispanic white alone)
• Year-round, full-time median earnings
• Percent living in poverty
• Percent employed
• Percent foreign born
• Percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher
• Percent veterans
• Percent language other than English spoken at home
• Percent never married
• Percent living in their parents’ home
• Percent living alone
• Percent of workers who drove or carpooled