This chapter is all about you.

Males per 100 Females: Census 2000

In this chapter you will find information about American citizens expressed in stories, maps, and data. The number of maps presented here is likely to grow faster than any other part of the National Atlas. Some of our maps simply report the current state of the population, crime, human health, our economy, and energy use.  Others reflect the shifting patterns of American demographics. For example, in the Map Maker you can easily make a map showing the counties in which the ratio of males to females is higher. Or you can compare the information on this map to similar maps published ten and twenty years ago and note the changes. You will also find links from the mapped information back to the organizations that collect geographic statistical information for more facts and figures like the ones below.

On January 1, 2005, the projected U.S. population was 295,160,302.

The median age of the U.S. population continued to rise, from 35.3 years on April 1, 2000, to 35.9 years on July 1, 2003.

The nation's Hispanic and Asian populations continue to grow at much faster rates than the population as a whole. The population of Hispanics reached 39.9 million on July 1, 2003, accounting for about one-half of the 9.4 million residents added to the nation's population since Census 2000.

In 2000, 50.9 percent of the US population was female, and 49.1 percent was male. That's 143 million females and 138 million males, or about 96 men for every 100 women.

Percent of Persons 25 Years and Over with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Census 2000

Real median household income remained unchanged between 2002 and 2003 at a level of $43,318, following two consecutive years of decline. Black households had the lowest median income. Their 2003 median money income was about $30,000

The official poverty rate in 2003 was 12.5 percent, up from 12.1 percent in 2002. In 2003, 35.9 million people were in poverty, up 1.3 million from 2002. From 2000 both the poverty number and rate have risen for three consecutive years, from 31.6 million and 11.3 percent in 2000, to 35.9 million and 12.5 percent

Of the 100 fastest-growing counties, 60 were located in the South, 20 in the West, 18 in the Midwest and two in the Northeast. With an overall 20 percent growth rate, the West grew more rapidly than any other region. The South was the second fastest growing region, increasing 17 percent. The Midwest and the Northeast grew almost 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

The 76.6 million students in 2000 included 5.0 million enrolled in nursery school, 4.2 million in kindergarten, 33.7 million in elementary school, 16.4 million in high school, 14.4 million in college and 3.1 million in graduate school. In April 2000, 5.2 million first-through-twelfth graders attended private schools, or 10.4 percent of students in those grades.

Among the 128.3 million workers in the United States in 2000, 76 percent drove alone to work. In addition, 12 percent carpooled, 4.7 percent used public transportation, 3.3 percent worked at home, 2.9 percent walked to work, and 1.2 percent used other means (including motorcycle or bicycle).

In 2000, there were 208.1 million civilians 18 years old and older. Almost 26.4 million of these people, or 12.7 percent, were veterans. In 1980, 28.5 million veterans lived in the United States, but the number declined to 27.5 million in 1990.

Overall, the population under 18 grew by 13 percent, from 63.6 million in 1990 to 72.1 million in 2000. Children under 18 represented 26 percent of the population in households in 2000. Ninety percent (64.7 million) of children in the United States were sons or daughters of the householder in 2000. Among children, 59.8 million (83 percent) were biological sons and daughters of the householder, 3.3 million were stepchildren, and 1.6 million were adopted children.

There were 49.7 million people with some type of long-lasting condition or disability living in the United States in 2000. This represented 19.3 percent of the 257.2 million civilians aged 5 and over who were not living in prisons, nursing homes, and other institutions, or nearly one person in five.