Posts written by Rebecca Tippett
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When we focus on educational attainment, we generally focus on prime working-age adults, defined here as adults between the ages of 25 and 64. There were 5.4 million prime working-age adults in North Carolina in 2017. Of these individuals, 2.3 million or 43.2% held a postsecondary degree: 545,000 or 10% had an associate degree 2 million or 22% had a bachelor’s degree 446,400 or 8% had a master’s degree 92,900 or 2% had a professional…
What is “postsecondary attainment”? This post was co-authored with the John M. Belk Endowment. School administrators, policy analysts, and government officials have begun using the term “postsecondary attainment” when discussing successful educational outcomes. What does this mean? Postsecondary refers to education or training beyond high school. Attainment means the completion of a postsecondary degree or nondegree credential. Postsecondary attainment is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It includes postsecondary degrees, such as associate or bachelor’s degrees, awarded…
On February 20, the myFutureNC Commission announced a statewide attainment goal: by 2030, 2 million North Carolinians age 25-44 will hold a postsecondary degree or nondegree credential. This represents a 67% postsecondary attainment rate for this age group in 2030, a seventeen percentage point increase over the current attainment rate for this age group (50% in 2017). https://youtu.be/YU4CKSkcGSM This goal was set because recent trends in educational attainment are insufficient to meet projected demands for…
2,135,568 North Carolina households headed by a married couple or a householder with an unmarried partner. This represents 54% of all NC households. 5.8% Share of North Carolina households headed by a householder with an unmarried partner. This is lower than the national rate of 6.1%. Among the state’s counties with populations of 65,000 or more, Wayne County had the highest share of unmarried-partner households (8.3%), followed by Lincoln (8.1%), Wilkes (7.5%), and Randolph (7.4%)…
Counting all residents is a complex undertaking. Who is counted? And how does the Census Bureau capture unique populations, such as the homeless or military personnel? These questions, and more, were asked last week at "Making NC Count," the first statewide convening by the NC Counts Coalition. Here's what you need to know: Is it a law that everyone gets counted? Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution mandates that the US take a Census…
North Carolina’s population grew to an estimated 10.4 million people as of July 1, 2018, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. From July 1, 2017 to July 1, 2018, the state’s population increased by nearly 113,000 individuals. This marks the third consecutive year that the state population has grown by more than 100,000 in a single year. Among the states, North Carolina had the 5th largest numeric increase since 2017. Only Texas (379K), Florida (323K), California…
Yesterday’s post provided topline statistics about internet access in North Carolina. For many readers, this post raised more questions than it answered. Specifically, one reader wanted to know how many individuals had internet access only through their cell phones. Others had more specific questions about the relationship between income, geography, and access. These questions are addressable with the data and are the focus of this post. How many of the people with internet access are…
Nationally, 78% of all households subscribe to the internet. This rate is two percentage points lower in North Carolina—76%—reflecting generally lower internet access rates among households in rural and lower-income counties. These data come from the 2017 5-Year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the first data to provide estimates of computer and internet use for all communities. Across North Carolina’s 100 counties, internet access varies widely. In twelve…
Just over 656,000 veterans lived in North Carolina in 2017 according to the most recent American Community Survey estimates. This is a decrease of 10,000 veterans from 2016, a decline of 1.5 percent. Nationally, the veteran population decreased at a similar rate, declining from 18.5 million in 2016 to 18.2 million in 2017, a loss of 292,000 on veterans. While the veteran population has been steadily declining, the total adult population continues to grow. As…
North Carolina’s Asian population is the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the state. The state’s Asian population grew from 209,400 residents in 2010 to more than 303,000 in 2017, an increase of nearly 94,000 or 44.7%. The state’s total population grew by 7.7% over this period. The Asian population is also the fastest-growing group nationwide and North Carolina’s Asian population is growing at a faster pace than the nation’s. Between 2016 and 2017, the Asian population…
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