Blog Post
August 24, 2010
Of the 700,266 same-sex unmarried partners counted by the U.S. Census Bureau, one in seven of them reside in California, according to an analysis by Social Explorer.
The Social Explorer website provides demographic analysis in a limited free format and via a more robust subscription service. The site blog also features certain stats pertinent to current social events.
With the recent overturning of California's ban on same-sex marriage, which voters passed as Proposition 8 in November 2008, Social Explorer parsed out the Census data.
"In 2000, 594,391 residents of the U.S. identified as being in same-sex unmarried couples. That number increased to 700,266 – one in seven of which live in California, according to the 2006-08 American Community Survey," according to the post.
While the litigation surrounding Proposition 8 wends its way through the legal system, the next governor of California may color how the state responds to the continuing fight over same-sex marriage.
Meg Whitman said she would defend Proposition 8 and believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. Jerry Brown, on the other hand, said he supports same-sex marriage. Take a look at the statements made by the candidates on the topic of gay marriage on our Politics Verbatim site.
Blog Post
June 29, 2010
The last population estimates before the 2010 Census are out, and four California cities are among the biggest in the country.
In SoCal, the Census Bureau estimates there are 3.8 million Angelinos residing within LA city limits, and 1.3 million San Diegans. LA is second only to New York City, where 8.3 million people reside.
The Bay Area's biggest cities are San Jose (964,695) and San Francisco (815,358).
|
Rank
|
Place
|
State
|
Population Estimate
|
|
1
|
New York City
|
New York
|
8,391,881
|
|
2
|
Los Angeles city
|
California
|
3,831,868
|
|
3
|
Chicago city
|
Illinois
|
2,851,268
|
|
4
|
Houston city
|
Texas
|
2,257,926
|
|
5
|
Phoenix city
|
Arizona
|
1,601,587
|
|
6
|
Philadelphia city
|
Pennsylvania
|
1,547,297
|
|
7
|
San Antonio city
|
Texas
|
1,373,668
|
|
8
|
San Diego city
|
California
|
1,306,301
|
|
9
|
Dallas city
|
Texas
|
1,299,543
|
|
10
|
San Jose city
|
California
|
964,695
|
|
11
|
Blog Post
March 30, 2010
Mail your form back. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates it could save $1.5 billion taxpayer dollars if it could convince 100 percent of households to mail their forms back, according to their new Take 10 Map that tracks the nation's participation in the current census.
Flickr photo by USDAgovA Census worker makes a home visit.
While it's probably unrealistic to expect a perfect mail-in score, the Census Bureau is facing a new group of dissidents who do not want to stand up and be counted.
"Contrary to historical trends, some of the toughest challenges facing the agency responsible for measuring the nation's population are not from counting the traditionally undercounted groups such as African-Americans and Latinos," says a report by the Houston Chronicle. "Instead, a new and growing threat to an accurate national head count is coming from anti-government conservatives who may not fill out their forms to protest against 'Big Brother' in Washington."
The story made it onto the Huffington Post, where the site highlights "some of the crazier Census-related conspiracy theories," as well as some of the counter arguments for why participating in the census is important.
Blog Post
February 9, 2010
In order to encourage everyone in the United States to mail back their forms, the U.S. Census Bureau is sinking more than $100 million into advertising, including a high-profile spot aired during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
Given the hype and expense that accompany Super Bowl advertising, at least one U.S. Senator has taken interest in the cost of the ad campaign.
Getting an ad into one of the coveted game-time slots requires a decent chunk of change. According to Advertising Age, a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl I in 1967 would have set you back about $40,000, or around $245,350 in 2007 dollars.
This year, for Super Bowl XLIV, a 30-second spot went for $2.5-$2.8 million, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves provided a justification for the expense in a January press release:
Blog Post
January 26, 2010
What if California's boundaries were redrawn according to population, just as congressional districts are redistributed every decade?
Take a peek at artist Neil Freeman's illustration of the United States broken up into 50 relatively equal chunks of 5.6 million people each. Freeman, who is also an urban planner, based his map on the 2000 census.
In Freeman's imagination, California would be divided into the new states of Willamette (including parts of Oregon), San Francisco Bay, San Joaquin, Mojave, Los Angeles, Orange, and Coronado. Because of its tiny population, Hawaii would join the state of Coronado, currently known as San Diego and Imperial counties.
Every 10 years, the federal government undertakes the herculean task of counting the nation's population to divvy up the seats of the U.S. House of Representatives among the states. Thanks to the Great Compromise, representation in the U.S. Senate is a flat two per state, but representation in the House is proportional.
Freeman's plan would require 14 U.S. Senators to represent the 38 million residents of California.
Using the count the U.S. Census Bureau produces every 10 years, the 435 house seats are redistributed among the states, according to a formula that Greg Giroux of Congressional Quarterlysays, "only someone with a doctorate in statistics can love, or truly comprehend."
Data
January 2, 2010
Did you know our nation's population is growing older and more diverse? Explore eight years of census data and find out how your state and county have changed.
Data
January 2, 2010
What is the fastest-growing city in the United States? Explore eight years of census data and find out how your city has changed.
