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The median household income in Austin, Texas, was $49,987 in 2011, which was not significantly different from the national figure of $50,502, according to statistics released today from the 2011 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, 21.0 percent of people in Austin did not have health insurance coverage, compared with 15.1 percent nationally. A selected profile of Austin appears below, including statistics on education, housing and the foreign-born population.

"The American Community Survey provides a wide range of important statistics about our nation's people, housing and economy for all communities in the country - including Austin," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. "The results are used by everyone from retailers, homebuilders and police departments, to town and city planners."

The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as educational attainment, housing, employment, commuting, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs down to the smallest communities.

Other selected highlights for Austin:

Education

• In 2011, 35.2 percent of the preschool age population was enrolled in school, compared with 47.4 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Among Austin's 25-and-older population, 86.0 percent completed high school or more, which was not significantly different from the 85.9 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Meanwhile, 44.5 percent of the 25-and-older population had a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 28.5 percent nationally.

Housing

• In 2011, the median value for an owner-occupied home was $217,700, compared with the value was $173,600 in the nation as a whole.
• In 2011, the median gross rent (rent plus utilities) was $905, compared with $871 in the nation as a whole.

Foreign-Born Population

• About 18.9 percent of people in Austin were foreign-born, compared with 13.0 percent in the nation as a whole.

More information about Austin's social, economic and housing characteristics, as well as information on other geographies, can be found on the Census Bureau's American FactFinder website. The 2011 American Community Survey one-year estimates are available for the nation, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, every congressional district, every metropolitan area, and all counties and places with populations of 65,000 or more. Estimates for areas with smaller populations will be available later this year.