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North Carolina’s Hispanic population is nearing 1 million, with 997,000 residents in 2018. The state’s Hispanic/Latino population grew from just over 75,000 in 1990 to 800,000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that North Carolina’s Hispanic population grew by 197,000 new residents, an increase of 24.6%, faster than the growth of this population nationwide (18.6%). More than one in four NC Latino residents live in two counties: Mecklenburg (148K) or…
Each September, local community leaders gather for a comprehensive overview of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. Hosted by The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, the State of the Community Report details how Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and the surrounding area are performing on various social, environmental and economic indicators. How Carolina Demography worked with the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro For the third year in a row, Carolina Demography will provide social, economic, and demographic…
It’s been almost three years since the 2016 general election and in that time, there have been demographic shifts in North Carolina. With just under a year before the 2020 election cycle, we’ve broken down the changes by partisan composition and who makes up our newly registered voting population. First, we should note: our state’s population continues to grow North Carolina has experienced steady population gains since 2016, with net gains masking a larger turnover…
Last week, we highlighted the programs of study where NC Community College graduates were making the highest average annual wages five years after graduation, as well as the percentage employed who graduated from that program. This week, we’re doing the same thing for UNC system graduates. This data comes from the NC Tower database, maintained by NC Department of Commerce, which provides aggregate information on degree attainment, programs of study, and wage/employment information from public postsecondary institutions in North Carolina. For…
One of many decisions that students transitioning from high school to postsecondary education are faced with is what program of study and credential to pursue. This can be challenging, since students are often not aware of the opportunities and salary potential associated with different careers. The NC Tower database can provide some insight into this important question. NC Tower is a web-based data delivery system, maintained by the NC Department of Commerce, which provides aggregate…
I visited Minneapolis last month to attend the data journalism conference SRCCON (pronounced “source con”). SRCCON hosts conversations and workshops for people who work on data teams – particularly those in newsrooms. While Carolina Demography does not produce traditional news, we do communicate data findings to the public on a regular basis.I was excited to learn more about how other teams work – and wanted to share a few things I learned at the conference.
2020 Update: The George Washington Institute for Public Policy has expanded its analysis of the fiscal impact of the census. According to their most recent estimate, there are $1.5 trillion dollars associated with 316 census-guided federal programs. In FY17, North Carolina received nearly $44 billion. In late June, I spoke on a panel focused on population trends in the Charlotte metropolitan region, the 2020 Census, and how businesses and local governments are gearing up for…
Nationally, there are 383 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA), which are defined as an economically integrated set of counties with a core central city with a population of 50,000 or more. They range in size from Carson City, Nevada (55,414) to the New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA (19,979,477) which crosses New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Within North Carolina, there are 17 unique metro regions, ranging from Goldsboro (123,248) to Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia (2,569,213 across NC and SC). With…
The opioid epidemic has had devastating impacts in recent years, affecting the lives of those battling addiction as well as their family, friends, and colleagues. Children, too, are deeply affected; they may be separated from parents with substance abuse disorders if their caretaker becomes incarcerated, needs to enter a rehabilitation program, or becomes unable to care for them. First-hand accounts and interviews collected by non-profit groups and the media suggest that nearby family members typically…
Father’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, June 16, 2019. We’ve compiled some key stats about parenting and fatherhood in North Carolina. A record number of households in North Carolina are headed by single dads. There were 98,434 single father households in NC in 2017, an increase of more than 7,000 since 2016 and the highest number observed since 1960, when just 7,769 households with children were headed by single fathers. Single father households represented…
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