Fw: African-American History Month: February 1-28
H. C. Covington (ach1@sprynet.com)
Tue, 27 Jan 1998 00:57:57 -0600
H. C. Sonny Covington @ I CAN! America
427 St. John Street - Lafayette, LA 70501
(318) 235-7005 Fax 318-234-0953
A product of the U.S. Census Bureau's Public Information Office CB98-
S.01 January 26, 1998
African-American History Month: February 1-28
Education
In 1996, 74 percent of the nation's African Americans aged 25
and over had at least a high school diploma, while 14 percent had
earned at least a bachelor's degree, up from 51 percent and 8
percent, respectively, in 1980.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-122.html>
About 75,000 African Americans aged 25 and over had doctorates, not
statistically different from the number with professional degrees
(e.g., an M.D. or a J.D.), in 1996.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-122.html>
About 4 in 10 African-American 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in
nursery school in 1995, not different from the proportion for Whites.
More than one-quarter of African Americans aged 18 to 24 attended
college.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-80.html>
Income and Poverty
In 1996, African-American households had a median income of
$23,482, statistically unchanged from 1995. Meanwhile, per capita
income for African Americans, adjusted for inflation, increased 5.2
percent from 1995 to 1996, to $11,899.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-162.html>
In 1996, the poverty rate for African Americans was 28.4 percent,
unchanged from 1995.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-162.html>
Jobs
In 1996, 16 percent of African-American men and 22 percent of
African-American women aged 16 and over worked in managerial and
professional specialty jobs (e.g., engineers, dentists, teachers,
lawyers, and reporters).
<http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab02-
96.txt>
Population distribution
On November 1, 1997, there were an estimated 34 million
African Americans in the United States, comprising 12.7
percent of the total population. Since July 1, 1990, the
African-American population has increased 11 percent,
while the non-Hispanic White population increased 3
percent.
<http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/
intfile3-1.txt>
The African-American population is young, with an estimated median
age on November 1, 1997 of 29.8 years nearly eight years younger than
the median for the non-Hispanic White population.
<http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt>
According to middle-series population projections, the
African-American population is expected to grow more than twice as
fast as the White population between 1995 and 2050. After 2016, more
African Americans than non-Hispanic Whites would be added to
the U.S. population each year.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-176.html>
In 1996, 53 percent of African Americans lived in the South,
comprising 19 percent of that region's population. Nationwide, 55
percent resided in the central cities of metro areas.
<http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/srh/srhus96.txt>
<http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab03-96.txt>
Five states had more than 2 million African-American residents on
July 1, 1996: New York (3.2 million), California (2.4 million), Texas
(2.3 million), Florida (2.2 million) and Georgia (2.1 million).
<http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/srh/srhus96.txt>
The ten counties with the most African-American residents on July
1, 1996 were: Cook, Ill. (1.4 million), Los Angeles, Calif. (1.0
million), Kings, N.Y. (900,000), Wayne, Mich. (900,000),
Philadelphia, Pa. (600,000), Harris, Texas (600,000), Bronx, N.Y.
(500,000), Queens, N.Y. (500,000), Dade, Fla. (400,000), and
Baltimore city, Md. (400,000).
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/co_casrh.html>
In 1997, 6 percent of Blacks (2.0 million) were foreign-born.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-55.html>
Families
In 1996, there were 8.1 million African-American families, 46 percent
of them married-couple families. The majority of African-American
families (57 percent) had children. Families with children averaged
two children apiece.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-110.html>
About 1 in 8 African-American children under 18 lived in the home of
their grandparents in 1995, compared with 1 in 25 White children.
About one-third of African-American children lived with both parents.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html>
Forty-one percent of African-American men and 37 percent of women
aged 15 and over were married in 1996.
<http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab04-96.txt>
Businesses
The number of African American-owned businesses in the United
States increased 46 percent, from 424,165 to 620,912 between 1987
and 1992. Receipts for these firms increased by 63 percent during the
five-year span, from $19.8 billion to $32.2 billion. The total number
of all the nation's firms increased 26 percent from 13.7 million in
1987 to 17.3 million in 1992. Their receipts grew 67 percent, from
$2 trillion to $3 trillion. <http://www.census.gov/Press-
Release/cb95-219.txt>
Forty-four percent of African American-owned employer businesses
reported that more than half their customers in 1992 were minorities.
In contrast, 33 percent of Hispanic-owned employer firms, 26 percent
of Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Alaska
Native-owned employer firms, and 9 percent of
employer firms owned by nonminority men reported a majority minority
customer base.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-182.html>
The District of Columbia had the highest concentration of African
American-owned firms in 1992 (29 percent of all firms), followed by
Maryland and Mississippi (11 percent and 10 percent, respectively).
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-219.txt>
Receipts per firm averaged $52,000 for African American-owned firms
in 1992; receipts for all U.S. firms averaged $193,000. Fifty-six
percent of African American firms had receipts of less than $10,000;
more than 3,000 firms had sales of $1 million or more.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-219.txt>
The preceding facts come from the Current Population Survey, population
estimates and projections, the Survey of Minority-Owned Business
Enterprises and the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey. Data in
this factsheet are subject to nonsampling errors. Some are also subject to
sampling variability. See referenced sources for detailed limitations.
Each month, the Census Bureau will provide previously released statistics
pertaining to selected events or holidays occurring that month. Questions
or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information
Office (Tel: 301-457-3030; Fax: 301-457-3670; E-mail: pio@census.gov).