G E N E R A L C E N S U S B U L L E T I N S ************************************************ SEPTEMBER 22, 1999 (WEDNESDAY) Help With Down Payments and Closing Costs Would Convert Renters to Owners, Census Bureau Report Shows Helping renters with down payments and closing costs would have substantially increased the proportion in 1995 who would have been able to afford a modestly priced house in the area where they lived while about 1 in 10 would have qualified for a mortgage with no help at all, according to a new report released today from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. A modestly priced house was defined as one that is less expensive than 75 percent of all owner-occupied houses in the area of residence. If renters received a down-payment subsidy of $5,000, about 2 in 10, or 8.9 million renters would have been able to afford a modestly priced house. A $10,000 subsidy would have increased the proportion of renters who would qualify for a mortgage to 3 in 10, or 13.4 million renters. "Surprisingly, decreasing the mortgage interest rates and reducing the required down payment would have less effect on affordability than down-payment assistance," said Howard Savage, author of the report, Who Could Afford to Buy a House in 1995? Reducing interest rates by 3 percentage points would have increased the proportion of renters who would have qualified for a mortgage from about 10 percent to about 11 percent. Requiring no down payment would have increased the proportion of qualified renters to about 13 percent. This option would lower the amount of cash required for the down payment and closing costs, but would increase the amount of income necessary because of higher monthly mortgage payments. Other highlights from the report, available on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hsgaffrd.html include: - The percentage of all families (both owners and renters) financially able to buy a modestly priced house was slightly lower in 1995 (56 percent) than in 1993 (58 percent). - Three primary reasons explain why families and individuals cannot afford to purchase a house: excessive debt, not enough cash for a down payment and monthly mortgage payments too high for the family to afford on its current income. - Affordability for families and individuals was greatest in the Midwest (55 percent), followed by the Northeast (50 percent), the South (48 percent) and the West (39 percent). - Two-thirds of married couples, 36 percent of male-householder families and 22 percent of female-householder families, could afford a modestly priced house in 1995. The data come from the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation. As in all surveys, the data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. G E N E R A L C E N S U S B U L L E T I N S ************************************************ SEPTEMBER 30, 1999 (THURSDAY) Household Income at Record High; Poverty Declines in 1998, Census Bureau Reports A fourth straight year of growth in real median household income made 1998 the year with the highest income levels ever recorded, as poverty dropped significantly and the children's poverty rate was lower than 20 percent for the first time since 1980, according to reports released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. "All types of households saw significant gains in real median household income between 1997 and 1998 and, for the first time since 1975, all four regions of the country experienced significant increases," said Daniel Weinberg, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. "Also, 1998 was the first year that real median household income surpassed its 1989 prerecessionary peak." As income rose, the proportion of the population living below the poverty level dropped to 12.7 percent (34.5 million people) in 1998, down from 13.3 percent (35.6 million people) in 1997. The number of poor children and their poverty rate decreased as well, from 14.1 million, or 19.9 percent, in 1997 to 13.5 million, or 18.9 percent, in 1998. This was the first time the poverty rate for children has been statistically below 20 percent since 1980. The South's poverty rate declined to a new record low of 13.7 percent, down from 14.6 percent in 1997. Nationwide, the number of poor non-Hispanic Whites (15.8 million) and poor Hispanics (8.1 million) did not change significantly, but the poverty rate for both groups experienced a significant decrease. For non-Hispanic Whites, the rate dropped from 8.6 percent to 8.2 percent. For Hispanics, 25.6 percent were poor in 1998, down from 27.1 percent in 1997. Although the 1998 poverty rate for African Americans -- 26.1 percent, or 9.1 million people -- remained statistically unchanged from 1997, it continued to represent the lowest rate since 1959, the earliest year for which poverty statistics are available. The poverty rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders -- 12.5 percent, or 1.4 million people -- also did not change from the previous year. The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 1998 was $16,660 in annual income; it was $13,003 for a family of three. On the income front, between 1997 and 1998, the median income level for the nation's households rose 3.5 percent in real terms, from $37,581 to a new high of $38,885. The previous high -- in 1998 dollars -- was $37,884 in 1989 (not statistically different from the 1997 median income of households). Among the racial groups, non-Hispanic White households were the only group to experience statistically significant growth in real median household income between 1997 and 1998, increasing 3.0 percent, from $41,209 to $42,439. As a result, the median income of non-Hispanic White households is the highest recorded since 1972, the first year data by Hispanic or non-Hispanic origin were collected. Hispanic households experienced their third consecutive year of rising income -- going from $27,043 to $28,330 between 1997 and 1998, a 4.8 percent increase. (The difference between the 1997-98 percentage increase in the median incomes of non-Hispanic White households and Hispanic households was not statistically significant.) The reports, Money Income in the United States: 1998 and Poverty in the United States: 1998, include data for states. These reports are available on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income98.html for income and http://www.census.gov/ hhes/www/povty98.html for poverty. Other highlights: Poverty - Based on comparisons of two-year moving averages (1996-97 and 1997-98), New Mexico and Virginia had significant drops in their poverty rates while North Dakota showed an increase; the other states had no significant change. - Using three-year averages (1996-98), poverty rates ranged from 8.4 percent in New Hampshire to 22.7 percent in Washington, D.C. Although numerically the lowest, the rate for New Hampshire was not statistically different from 19 other states and the rate for Washington, D.C., was not statistically different from the rate for New Mexico. - While the South achieved an all-time low, none of the other regions (Northeast, Midwest and West) experienced significant declines in their poverty rates in 1998. - The poverty rate for metropolitan areas was 12.3 percent in 1998, but those living inside central cities had a poverty rate (18.5 percent) more than twice that of those living in the suburbs (8.7 percent). - Families of Hispanic origin had a significant decline in their poverty rate: 22.7 percent were poor in 1998, down from 24.7 percent in 1997. There was no change statistically in the number of Hispanic families who were poor. For the racial groups, neither the poverty rate nor the number of poor families changed significantly. - Despite the drop in child poverty, children under age 6 remained particularly vulnerable; those living in families with a female householder and no husband present experienced a poverty rate of 54.8 percent, more than five times the rate for children under 6 in married-couple families (10.1 percent). Income - Based on comparisons of two-year moving averages (1996-97 and 1997-98), real median household income increased for 16 states. Six of the states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Washington and Wyoming) were in the West; four (Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma) were in the South; another four (Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio) were in the Midwest; and two (Pennsylvania and Vermont) were in the Northeast. The only state to show a decline in real median household income was Alaska. - Using a three-year average (1996-98), median household income was highest in Alaska ($51,421), though not statistically different from New Jersey. - 1998 were 4.4 percent in the Midwest, 3.0 percent in the West, 2.8 percent in the Northeast and 2.6 percent in the South. (The differences were not statistically significant.) While the Midwest and the South surpassed pre-recessionary 1989 levels, the West stayed close to its 1989 level and the Northeast still lagged 5.0 percent behind its 1989 level. - Households outside of metropolitan areas experienced a 4.9 percent increase in real median income between 1997 and 1998, from $30,525 to $32,022. For households inside metropolitan areas, the growth was 2.5 percent from $39,994 to $40,983. (The difference between the percentage changes in median household income for households located outside metropolitan areas and inside metropolitan areas was not statistically significant.) - Even though median household income rose in real terms for all types of households between 1997 and 1998, the percentage increase for non-family households (6.3 percent, from $22,043 to $23,441) was twice as high as the increase for family households (3.1 percent, from $46,053 to $47,469). Although family households surpassed their pre-recessionary 1989 level in 1997, 1998 was the first year that nonfamily households did so. - Per capita income reached a new high by increasing 3.0 percent in real terms between 1997 and 1998, from $19,541 to $20,120. For non-Hispanic Whites, the growth was 3.2 percent, to $22,952, and for African Americans, the increase was 3.3 percent, to $12,957. The per capita income of Asians and Pacific Islanders ($18,709) did not change significantly between 1997 and 1998. Hispanics experienced a 4.5 percent increase, from $10,941 to $11,434. (The differences in the percentage increases in per capita income between 1997 and 1998 for non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders and Hispanics were not statistically significant.) - The real median earnings of men and women who worked full time and year-round increased between 1997 and 1998 by 3.4 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively. (The difference between the percentage increases in the earnings of men and women was not statistically significant.) It was the second straight year of increases for men and third straight year of increases for women. The female-to-male earnings ratio in 1998 was 0.73, not statistically different from its all-time high of 0.74 in1996. The data are from the March 1999 Current Population Survey. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and non-sampling error. G E N E R A L C E N S U S B U L L E T I N S ************************************************ October 21, 1999 (THURSDAY) The Customer Liaison Office has mailed the following products. - County Business Patterns 1997 CD-ROM CLO mailed this product to the lead organizations on October 21 for distribution to their network organizations. "County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides sub-national economic data by industry. The series is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic change over time; and as a benchmark for statistical series, surveys, and databases." - County Business Patterns - Publication CLO mailed this product to the lead organizations on October 21. We have requested that our Jeffersonville processing staff mail copies of the document to the coordinating and affiliate organizations by mid-November. - Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the Untied States:1997 CLO mailed this product to the lead, coordinating, and affiliate organizations on October 21. "This report presents data on a wide range of geographic, demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the foreign-born population in the United States. Data for the native population are included for comparison" Customized Business Profiles Available on New Census Bureau Compact Discs The Commerce Department's Census Bureau today released the first in a series of eight CD-ROMs from the 1997 Economic Census that allow users to prepare customized business-activity profiles for individual geographic areas or industries. The 1997 Economic Census, Volume 1, NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Report, CD-ROM Series, is part of a subscription series. The first disc contains data on selected manufacturing, mining and service industries ranging from physicians' offices to tortilla manufacturing in selected states, counties, places and metro areas. A chart showing the exact contents of the disc can be found at http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/ec97cd1a.htm. The disc provides four data items for each selected industry number of establishments, number of employees, annual payroll and output (i.e., shipments, sales, receipts and revenues). It comes with WindowsTM software that enables users to view, print, extract, sort and perform simple calculations (such as determining wages per employee) on the data sets they choose. The software also allows users to prepare simple, customized business profiles (e.g., tables that show how the receipts of an industry in one state compare with those for the same industry in other states or comparisons of employment for a number of industries in a single city. Users can prepare customized business profiles more easily than they can with similar data on the Internet. Unlike the Internet, the CD-ROM software imposes no limits on the size of files users may transfer to their hard disk or print out. Transferring large files enables users to perform more detailed analysis of Economic Census data, such as projecting growth of specific industries. As more census information is released over the next two years, seven additional discs will be issued on a quarterly basis. Each will contain all the information on the previous disc, plus new data covering additional industries, subjects, states and sub-state areas. In addition to the Volume 1 Series, the subscription series includes the three-disc Volume 2, Special Series scheduled for release between December 1999 and late 2000. The Volume 2 CDs will include Economic Census data for minority- and women-owned businesses, and also for Guam, the Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. Orders for the two-volume subscription series, which sell for $200, should be directed to the Census Bureau's Customer Services Branch at 301-457-4100. Editor's Note: News releases, reports and data tables are available on the Census Bureau's Internet homepage at