EMBARGOED UNTIL: 12:01 A.M. EDT, JULY 24, 1998 (FRIDAY) Public Information Office CB98-124 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) *REVISED* 301-457-4067(TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Wanda Cevis 301-457-1166 Census Bureau Releases New Book Showing How States and Metro Areas Compare The Commerce Department's Census Bureau today released the 1997-98 edition of its State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, which allows users to see how the nation's states and metro areas compare in everything from banking and births to wages and welfare. The embargoed publication and state and metro-area rankings by selected characteristics can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html. After the release time, go to http://www.census.gov/prod/www/titles.html#comp for a pdf version of the book or to http://www.census.gov/statab/www/smadb.html for the rankings. During the next month, additional rankings will be put on the site. The 276-page publication features a multitude of data for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and 315 metropolitan areas and their component counties and central cities. For the states, District of Columbia and the United States, 56 tables are presented covering a wide range of demographic and economic topics, such as crime, personal income, poverty, unemployment, educational attainment, death rates by cause, traffic fatalities, the prevalence of community hospitals and physicians, excise tax rates, foreign investment, banking, industries and business establishments, building permits issued, receipt of federal funds, housing starts, business starts and failures, and women- and minority-owned firms. Some state facts: - Nevada is the fastest growing state in the 1990s with a 39.5 percent increase; only the District of Columbia and two states, Connecticut and Rhode Island, posted a decline. - The 1995 median household income varied from a low of $24,880 in West Virginia to a high of $47,954 in Alaska; the national average was $34,076. - In 1996, the proportion of workers who were union members was 14.5 percent nationally, with lows of 3.7 percent and 4.1 percent in South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively, and highs of 26.8 percent and 24.0 percent in New York and Michigan, respectively. Ten metro area tables present more than 150 items of information for 315 Metropolitan Areas (MAs). Some metro facts: - The Las Vegas, Nev.-Ariz. MSA leads all metro areas in population growth between 1990 and 1997 with a 48.0 percent increase; Laredo, Texas MSA is second at 37.5 percent. - In looking at the percent of the population ages 65 and over, nine of the 10 highest ranking metro areas in this category are in Florida. Also included are three metro county tables with data for the 315 MAs and their 844 component counties featuring more than 40 data items, as well as a central city table featuring 1996 and 1990 population figures for the 538 central cities within these metro areas. The data come from a variety of sources, including the Census Bureau and more than 20 other federal agencies and private organizations. Each table cites the source where additional details are available. This publication is a supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, the Census Bureau's best-selling desktop compendium. The abstract's 1997 edition was published last December. The State and Metropolitan Area Data Book 1997-98 is available from the the National Technical Information Service (Stock No. PB98-124407, $22.50 plus $5.00 handling fee per total order) by calling 703-605-6000 and the Government Printing Office (Stock No. 003-024-08827-4, $24 total cost) by calling 202-512-1800.-X-Editor's Note: The Public Information Office now has a media-access server for embargoed news releases and data sets. It is available to accredited media representatives only. To gain access, please contact us for a username and password. The media-access server's Internet address is http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html. We would appreciate any comments you may have about the site. The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
