Welcome to our blog
Keep up with our latest demographic insights
“What many people don’t know about North Carolina is that we sell the largest number of Christmas trees of any state on the Eastern seaboard. In 2012, our growers cut nearly 4.3 million Christmas trees. Only Oregon growers cut and sold more trees that year.” – Dee Webb, Celebrating Old North State Agriculture From Thanksgiving turkeys and sweet potatoes to Christmas trees and poinsettias, North Carolina farmers have your holiday needs covered. Not only that,…
Half of the 316 million people living in the United States live in one of the nation’s 145 most populous counties based on calculations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 Population Estimates. With 3,143 counties nationwide, this means that half of the U.S. population lives in just 4.6% of all counties. In North Carolina, half of the state’s nearly 10 million residents were living in 13 counties in 2013 (13% of the state’s 100 counties).…
"Young adults today, often called the millennial generation, are more likely to be foreign born and speak a language other than English at home, compared with young adults in 1980." - U.S. Census Bureau press release The U.S. Census Bureau released the most recent 5-year American Community Survey data last week, covering 2009-2013. In conjunction with this, they also released a new edition of Census Explorer, a collaborative effort with Social Explorer to produce interactive…
1) Total births are not rebounding to 2007 levels. North Carolina births peaked in 2007, with nearly 131,000 babies born to North Carolina residents. Since then, total births have steadily declined. In 2013, 119,000 babies were born, a decline of 9% from the 2007 peak. 2) NC fertility rates are at their lowest level since 1996. The general fertility rate, measured as the number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (women age…
“The number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States has stabilized since the end of the Great Recession and shows no sign of rising, according to new Pew Research Center estimates. The marked slowdown in new arrivals means that those who remain are more likely to be long-term residents, and to live with their U.S.-born children.” – Jeffrey S. Passel, D’Vera Cohn, Jens Manuel Krogstad, and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, “As Growth Stalls, Unauthorized Immigrant Population…
Are you planning for 2020? The U.S. Census Bureau is. Research and testing for the content and delivery of the 2020 Census have been underway since 2012. Not only is the Bureau testing methods to improve response rates and reduce costs, they are also examining how to structure the questionnaire to best capture changing conceptions of identity and changing household types. John Thompson, the U.S. Census Bureau Director, recently wrote: "One challenge we face is…
NC doesn’t just lead the nation in sweet potatoes – we’re also one of the top turkey producing states. Here are a few fun facts about NC turkeys: 1992 Turkey production—measured as number of heads of turkey produced—peaked in North Carolina in 1992, with 62 million turkeys. The number of turkeys produced in North Carolina has steadily declined since its mid-1990s peak. Although this has led to some declines in overall pounds of turkey produced,…
North Carolina farm products are likely to have a starring role in next week’s Thanksgiving dinners across the state (and nation). Our state farms lead the nation in both sweet potato and turkey production. Here are a few fun facts about NC sweet potatoes: 1971 The year that North Carolina passed Louisiana in sweet potato production. We’ve held the top spot for the last 42 years! 1.1 billion The amount of sweet potatoes, in pounds,…
“The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments, to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations have been issued every year since 1994.” – U.S. Census Bureau on the history…
The Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) at the North Carolina Department of Commerce has a new blog, the LEAD Feed, devoted to helping individuals and organizations better understand the workforce and economic development in our state. Launched in mid-September, the blog has averaged 2 to 3 posts per week across a diverse range of topics, such as the potential impact of Russia’s ban on U.S. pork on North Carolina’s exports and the impact of…
Your support is critical to our mission of measuring, understanding, and predicting population change and its impact. Donate to Carolina Demography today.