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Census Bureau Publication Lists Facts
About Nation's Counties and Cities
Maricopa County, Ariz., added more people than any other county during
the past decade; the population of Douglas County, Colo., grew the
fastest; and Anchorage's land area is more than twice as large as the
second most expansive city, Jacksonville, Fla. These are just a few of the
facts from the County and City Data Book: 2000, released today by the
Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
"The latest edition of the county and city data book, which has been
published intermittently since 1944, is full of useful information on
people, businesses, taxes, federal government spending and health for all
of the nation's counties," said Wanda Cevis, statistician and technical
coordinator of the publication. "It also contains figures from retail
sales to average annual temperatures and precipitation for the country's
largest cities."
In addition to data from Census 2000, the book incorporates information
from Census Bureau economic surveys, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the FBI and private nonprofit organizations
such as the American Hospital Association.
Some highlights:
For counties
- Maricopa County reported the most building permits (43,056) of any
county in the nation for new private housing units in 2000. Alcona
County, Mich., (89.9 percent), had the highest percentage of
owner-occupied housing units that year.
- More than one-third of the people in Charlotte County, Fla., were
age 65 or older in 2000, the highest percentage in the nation; the
lowest, 1.8 percent, was in Chattahoochee County, Ga.
- Wade Hampton census area, Alaska, had the nation's highest
percentage of persons under age 18 in 2000, 46.6 percent. Kalawao
County, Hawaii, had the lowest, 2.0 percent.
For cities with 100,000 or more people
- Gilbert, Ariz., grew faster than any other city between 1990 and
2000 at 266 percent, while St. Louis lost 12 percent, the most of any
large city.
- New York City, with more than 26,000 people per square mile, was the
most crowded city in 2000. Anchorage residents had considerably more
elbow room, with 153 people per square mile, the fewest of any large
city.
- Three cities in California had the highest unemployment rate in
2000: Fresno, Salinas and Stockton all were above 10 percent. Two
cities in Michigan had the lowest: Ann Arbor and Livonia, with
slightly more than 1 percent.
- More than 4-in-10 people in Washington, D.C., lived alone in 2000,
the highest ratio of any city, followed closely by nearby Alexandria,
Va. Three cities in California had the lowest ratio of one-person
households: the ratio in Moreno Valley, El Monte and Fontana was
1-in-10.
- More than 75 percent of housing units in Newark, N.J., were occupied
by renters in 2000, the highest proportion in the nation. Livonia,
Mich., had the lowest rate at 11 percent.
The book is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office (stock
number 003-024-08862-2; $68) by calling (202) 512-1800 in Washington,
D.C., or 1-866-512-1800.
It is available also from the National Technical Information Service
(stock number PB2002-101674; $65) by calling (703) 605-6000 in the
Washington, D.C., area or 1-800-553-6847.
A CD-ROM version of the book will be available later this year.
available free from Adobe.
