Religion in North Carolina: Southern Baptists dominate, Catholicism and non-denominational affiliation rising

According to the most recent U.S. Religion Census, conducted in 2010, about half of the U.S. population (49% or nearly 151 million persons) are adherents to some religion. Nationwide, the largest denominational affiliation is Catholicism, with an estimated 59 million adherents. While Protestantism as a group has more than 77 million adherents, it is comprised of dozens of individual denominations. Among these, the Southern Baptist Convention is the second largest religious group in the United…

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NC in Focus: Child Population

Between 2000 and 2010, North Carolina’s child population (ages 0 to 17) increased by almost 318,000 individuals. Unlike growth in the 65 and older population—which grew by more than 265,000 individuals and increased almost everywhere statewide—growth in the child population was uneven across the state. The child population shrank in 30 rural counties. The largest losses were in the eastern counties of Halifax (-2,387), Edgecombe (-1,188), and Martin (-1,098) and the western counties of Cleveland…

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NC in Focus: Vacation Homes

By on 5.22.14 in Housing

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer rental season for many communities nationwide. In the decennial census, housing units that are classified as vacant for “seasonal, recreational, or occasional use” are typically referred to as “vacation” homes. The Census Bureau notes, “These may be large summer estates on Long Island, time-sharing condos in Fort Lauderdale, or simple fishing cabins in northern Michigan. Analysts often use this category to estimate the number of second homes in…

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What language does your county speak?

In a previous post, I looked at changes in the number and type of non-English languages spoken at home in North Carolina over time. Today, I’m looking at variation in languages spoken across space; that is, how do languages spoken vary across North Carolina counties? At an initial glance, there is little county-to-county variation. The majority of individuals age 5 and over in each county speak only English at home. Of those that speak another…

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NC in Focus: Personal Income by Source, 1969-2012

By on 5.15.14 in Economic Data

After reading this article about trends in non-earned income, I became curious about the trends in overall personal income by source. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis has a wealth of local and regional data. They report annual aggregate personal income, as well as the source of personal income. Because the BEA measures include the value of “in-kind” transfers, such as Food Stamps (SNAP) and medical payments from Medicaid/Medicare, they capture the…

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College Bound: Out-of-State Students

By on 5.13.14 in Education

Across the 16 universities in the UNC system, the proportion of incoming first-year students from out-of-state varies widely. Between 2009 and 2013, for example, nearly three-fifths of incoming first-year students at the UNC School of the Arts were from out-of-state; at the other extreme, only 4% at UNC Pembroke were from outside of North Carolina. Among the five largest schools, UNC Chapel Hill has the highest percentage of out-of-state students (17%), followed by East Carolina…

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NC in Focus: Children of Immigrants

By on 5.8.14 in Migration

Between 2006 and 2011, growth in the U.S. population of children ages 0 to 17 was entirely due to growth in the number of children born to at least one immigrant parent. Over these 5 years, the population of children of immigrants grew 1.5 million, from 15.7 to 17.2 million. Nationally, the population of children of native-born parents fell slightly over this time period, from 55.6 to 55.0 million. In North Carolina, these trends are…

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NC in Focus: Long-Term Unemployment

By on 5.1.14 in Economic Data

“One of the defining features of the Great Recession and not-so-great recovery has been the surge in long-term unemployment… Analysts have advanced several explanations for the persistence of long-term unemployment: an unintended consequence of extending jobless benefits; a mismatch between the skills unemployed workers have and what employers want; a breakdown in the efficiency of labor markets; or simply bad timing. Whatever the reason, it’s a major concern for policymakers, who fear that many of the long-term unemployed may never find their way back into…

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NC College Bound: An Update

By on 4.30.14 in Education

On Monday, we took a county-by-county look at high school graduates' most likely college destination among North Carolina's 5 largest public universities. The map was East Carolina purple for 40 eastern counties, Appalachian State gold to the west, UNC-Charlotte green in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties, and NC State red in the piedmont (and a few counties to the east and west, as well). Because UNC-Chapel Hill pulls broadly from all counties but has a smaller…

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College Bound: NC Counties and UNC School Attendance

By on 4.28.14 in Education

Update: Examine attendance at all UNC system schools here. With May 1 fast approaching, college-bound high school seniors are facing decisions about where they will be this fall. Within North Carolina, they are choosing between many universities. Focusing on the five largest universities in the University of North Carolina school system—Appalachian State, East Carolina, NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, and UNC Charlotte—here’s a look at the school each county’s high school graduates is most likely…

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