UNITED STATES DEPT. OF COMMERCE
January 31, 1997 CB97-FS.01 MEMORANDUM FOR Reporters, Editors, News Directors From: LaVerne Vines Collins Chief, Public Information Office Subject: Facts for African American History Month and Valentine's Day Each month, we plan to provide previously released facts pertaining to selected events or holidays occurring that month. Questions or comments about any of these facts should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030, faxed to 301-457-3670, or e-mailed to pio@census.gov CENSUS FACTS FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH Education: - In 1995, 74 percent of African Americans aged 25 and over had at least a high school diploma and 13 percent held at least a bachelor's degree, up from 51 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in 1980. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-148.html) - The proportion of African Americans aged 25 to 29 who had completed high school improved significantly from 1985 to 1995--from 81 percent to 87 percent, while the share of young adult Whites in the same age group remained unchanged--at about 87 percent. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-148.html) - High school dropout rates for African American and White students in 1994 were around 5 percent. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-179.html) Income and Poverty: - Between 1994 and 1995, the median income of African American households rose 3.6 percent in real terms to $22,393, while the median income of White households increased 2.2 percent. (The difference between these percentage changes was not statistically significant.) The income of Asian and Pacific Islander households was unchanged; the small sample sizes for this population do not allow us to determine that there are any differences in their income changes from those for other racial or ethnic groups. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-159a.html) - The poverty rate for African Americans declined between 1994 and 1995, from 30.6 percent to 29.3 percent. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-159a.html) Population: - On October 1, 1996, there were an estimated 33.7 million African Americans in the United States, comprising 12.7 percent of the total population. Their median age was 29.4 years. (www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt) - It's projected that the African American population will grow more than twice as fast as the White population between 1995 and 2050. The African American population would increase 2 million by 2000, 7 million by 2010, and 17 million by 2030. By the middle of the next century, the African American population would nearly double its present size to 61 million. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-176.html) - The African American share of the total U.S. population is expected to increase from 12.6 percent in 1995 to 12.9 percent in 2000, 14 percent in 2020, and 15 percent in 2050. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-176.html) - After 2016, more African Americans than non-Hispanic Whites are expected to be added to the U.S. population each year. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-176.html) Businesses: - The number of African American-owned businesses increased from 424,165 in 1987 to 620,912 in 1992--growing 46 percent, or 20 percentage points more than U.S. businesses as a whole. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-29.html) - African American-owned business receipts increased from $19.8 billion in 1987 to $32.2 billion in 1992, an increase of 63 percent. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-29.html) - Receipts for African American-owned firms averaged $52,000 per firm, compared with $193,000 for all U.S. firms. Fifty-six percent of African American-owned firms had receipts under $10,000. Less than 1 percent had receipts of $1 million or more. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-29.html) - The New York metro area had the most African American-owned firms, with 39,404, followed closely by Washington, D. C. (37,988) and Los Angeles (32,645). (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-29.html) Marital Status: - In 1980, 45 percent of all African American women 15 years old and over were currently married; by 1995, the figure had declined to 38 percent. For African American men, the corresponding figures were 49 percent and 43 percent. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html) Child Care: - In 1993, about four in 10 African American preschoolers were cared for by grandparents or other relatives besides their fathers while their mothers worked, compared to only about two in 10 White children. Care by grandparents was especially important to African American families, accounting for one-fifth of all arrangements used for preschoolers. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-61.html) - African American preschoolers were less likely to be cared for by nonrelatives or in organized child care facilities than White preschoolers (48 percent compared to 54 percent). (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-61.html) CENSUS FACTS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY - In 1994, 2.4 million marriages and 1.2 million divorces took place in the United States. That means 6,500 marriages and 3,300 divorces on a typical day. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-192.html) - Nevada had both the Nation's highest marriage rate (96.3 marriages per 1,000 population) and divorce rate (9.0 divorces per 1,000 population) in 1994. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-192.html) - In 1995, there were 118 unmarried men age 18 to 34 for every 100 unmarried women that age. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html) - In 1995, 13.6 million persons age 25 to 34 had never been married, representing 33 percent of all persons in the age group. (www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html) - The value of Valentine cards shipped in 1992 totaled $210 million. (www.census.gov/prod/1/manmin/92mmi/92manuff.html, then click on "27C Greeting Cards; Bookbinding; Printing Trade Services Industry.") - There were 27,341 florists in the United States in 1992, employing 122,000 people and selling $5.7 billion worth of merchandise during the year. Cut flowers accounted for $3.6 billion worth of these sales. (www.census.gov/prod/1/bus/retail/92subj/index.html#RC92-S-3, then click on "Merchandise Line Sales--United States. Full document." Also, www.census.gov/prod/1/bus/retail/92area/92ret.html, then click on "United States.") - In 1994, 51,200 people worked for companies that manufactured candy and other confectionery products or chewing gum. These companies shipped $10.9 billion in goods during the year. (www.census.gov/prod/www/titles.html#mm, then click on "1994 Annual Survey of Manufactures: Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries. Document.") - There were 10,100 people in 1994 who worked for companies that manufactured chocolate and cocoa products. This industry shipped $3.2 billion in goods during the year. (www.census.gov/prod/www/titles.html#mm, then click on "1994 Annual Survey of Manufactures: Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries. Document.")
