Municipal Level Income Comparisons in Herkimer County: 2014 Versus 2009 Five Year Estimates

The three primary ways that the Census Bureau measures income is by median household income, median family income, and per capita income. Median household income is basically the "middle income value" of all households in a given municipality. Households include anyone sharing a housing unit and living together regardless of their relationships. Median family incomes are the "middle income value" of all families, meaning related people living in a household. Measuring income on a per capita basis is taking income and dividing it by the total number of people living in a municipality, regardless of age.

Below is a chart showing the 2014 and the inflation-adjusted 2009 income measures for households, families and per capita within each municipality in Herkimer County.

Please note that NONE of the municipalities show any SIGNIFICANT changes from 2009 when it comes to any of the income measures. Any differences in income (whether large or small, positive or negative) between 2009 and 2014 are within the margins of error for the data.

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Comparing Five Year Estimates of Median Income for Households

A comparison of municipalities' median household income changes between 2009 and 2014 shows that only six municipalities show actual income growth in the region. The chart below shows the six municipalities and compares their median household incomes found in the 2009 Five Year ACS estimates with those in the newly released 2014 Five Year Estimates. These are the only areas in the region where household income, after being adjusted for inflation, has shown significant growth between the two five year periods.

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2013 Income Measures for Herkimer County Municipalities

With the release of the 2013 American Community Survey Five Year Estimates by the Census Bureau, data on commonly sought fields like income measures become more readily available. The data, which is collected over a five year period from 2009 to 2013, is available for small geographies, including municipalities and census designated places.

The table below shows three income measures for Herkimer County and its municipalities. They include: median household income (MHI); median family income (MFI); and the per capita income (PCI). Note that some of the data is shaded on the table. Because the data comes with margins of error, it is possible to assess whether the MHI, MFI and PCI figures are significantly different for each municipality compared to the County as a whole.

Green shaded cells mean that the figure is significantly higher than the county number. Pink shaded figures show that the data is significantly below the county medians, etc. Remember, the determination as to whether the value is significantly different is based on the margins of error, NOT on whether the median income measure is simply above or below the corresponding county figure.

One last note: town data is shown minus any villages contained within their boundaries. This provides more insight into the incomes of those choosing to live in more rural settings without the amenities that typically might come with village life. It also makes it easier to compare the incomes of those that live somewhere like the town of Stark, which contains no villages, with those that live in the town of Newport, which has three villages within its borders.

Herkimer County Income Measures (2013)

Herkimer County Areas With Significantly Higher or Lower Median Household Incomes

With the release of the 2013 ACS Five Year Estimates, a variety of data can now be looked at in terms of smaller geographies. This includes villages and towns. But even smaller census areas, like block groups, also have data available for review through the American Fact Finder on Census.gov. This is the first time that data on census block groups has been made available through the AFF.

Below is an example of what data is now out there for small geographies. It is a map showing the block groups for Herkimer County, highlighting those that have significantly higher or lower median household incomes when compared to the county as a whole. Note that some of the areas are hatched - this is done in order to let the viewer know that the margin of error for that particular small area is quite high (generally higher than 30% of the estimate). When margins of error are high for an estimate, it is important to view that data with some caution. It doesn't mean you should discount the information, but you need to view it as being statistically, well, fuzzy at best !

Click on the map to enlarge it.

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Median Household Income Changes During and After the Great Recession

According to NBCnews.com, the average American household is earning less than when the Great Recession ended four years ago. According to a report released Wednesday by Sentier Research,  U.S. median household income, once adjusted for inflation, has fallen 4.4 percent in that time. The report is based on an analysis of Census Bureau data.

The median, or midpoint, income in June 2013 was $52,098. That's down from $54,478 in June 2009, when the recession officially ended. And it's below the $55,480 that the median household took in when the recession began in December 2007. The report says nearly every group is worse off than four years ago, except for those 65 to 74. Some groups have experienced larger-than-average declines, including blacks, young and upper-middle-aged people and the unemployed.

Our local data is a bit harder to decipher. For one thing, when you are working with smaller populations, such as the population of a county, the data may not be available for individual years. In addition, with smaller data sets come larger variability typically, which potentially means larger margins of error. that being said, view the data below with a bit of caution.

What I have been able to cobble together is a a comparative of the three year American Community Survey estimates for the Herkimer-Oneida County region as a whole for the periods of 2006-2008, and 2009-2011. This allows us to at least get a glimpse of how out median household income data has changed over the short run during, and immediately after, the Great Recession. As more ACS data becomes available this fall from the Census Bureau, perhaps this will give us more insight.

At any rate, the table below provides you with three things: the 2010 (as the mid-year of the three year period 2009-2011) median household income data; the 2007 (as the mid-year of the 2006-2008 period) median household data; and a column indicating if they 2010 numbers are statistically higher, lower or no different than the 2008 data.

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Median Household Income: New Maps Now Available!

Thanks to our GIS group for getting these maps together showing the median household incomes by block group within Herkimer and Oneida Counties ! Remember that block groups are as small as we can go geographically with most data. Block groups are basically sub-areas of Census tracts, so a tract might typically have any where from three to six block groups within it.

You can see the tract maps for both counties, as well as these many other types of maps (these median household income maps have just been added) on our MAPS page. If you're interested in some other income data, you might want to visit a previous post showing income and poverty measures by municipality for each county. You could also simply search using the search engine at the upper right of the Census Affiliate blog for all "income" related posts.

In the meantime, here are the maps for your perusal !

Click to Enlarge OC

Click to Enlarge Utica

Click to Enlarge Rome

Click to Enlarge HC

Click to Enlarge HC Valley

Regional Income and Poverty Measures By Municipality

The American Communities Survey (ACS) provides more timely updates to data for planning and grant purposes than the decennial census releases of the past. The ACS, which is released in three different formats annually (one year, three year, and five year estimates, depending on the size of the area you are looking at), includes data on income and poverty measures. Below are tables for Herkimer and Oneida Counties which contain three standard income measures ( median household, median family, and per capita income), as well as several poverty measures (overall persons, persons under age 5, persons under age 18, and persons age 65 or older in poverty. These come from the 2011 Five Year ACS Estimates. Click on either table to see it in a larger format.

Click For Herkimer County Data

Click For Oneida County Data