U.S. Census
U.S. Census
For the purposes of comparative analysis, two counties of Pennsylvania state were selected - Philadelphia County and Delaware County. This paper is aimed at researching the socio-demographic data for these two countries and to answering the following questions:
- Where people are more likely to build families and have children – in Philadelphia or Delaware County? Is there any relationship between race composition, median age, income level and willingness to build families with children?
- Why the household income is higher in Delaware County?
According to the U.S. Census data, median age for Philadelphia County is less than in Delaware (33.5 and 38.7 years respectively). In general, people in Philadelphia County are younger; share of population under 34 is 52%, while in Delaware – 46% (see figure 1.)
Figure 1. Age distribution.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010
In Delaware county, the most numerous racial group is white (Caucasian) – 72% of population, while the most numerous racial group in Philadelphia is African American (43% of total population), the second large racial group is White (Caucasian) – 41%. In Philadelphia, the share of population of Hispanic/Latino ethnic group is higher than in Delaware (see figures 2 and 3.)
Figure 2. Racial composition of the population
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010
Figure 3. Ethnicity breakdown
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010
In Delaware County, the share of family households with children (30.1%) is larger, than in Philadelphia (24.9%), and number of non-family households is smaller (33% in comparison with 43.2% in Philadelphia.)
In Philadelphia County 34.1% of people live alone (run 1 person household), while in Delaware – only 28% (see figure 4.)
Figure 4. Household type.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010
The average family size in both counties is similar (3.2), but percentage of families with own children under 18 years is slightly bigger in Delaware (44.9% comparing with 43.8% in Philadelphia County, see figure 5.)
Figure 5. Average family size, share of families with children
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010
So, speaking of generalized population profile, in Delaware people are older than in Philadelphia, mostly Caucasian in terms of race, are more likely to have families with children and are less likely to live alone. Delaware County families are bigger; according to US Census, 25.2% of households account 4 people or more (in Philadelphia County - 21.8.)
In Delaware County, the median household income is 70% higher, and poverty rate is significantly lower than in Philadelphia (see figure 6.) At the same time, according to US Census data, unemployment rate in Delaware County is lower by 6.1 percentage points and accounts for 8.4% (in Philadelphia – 14.5% respectively.)
Figure 6. Poverty (all ages) and median income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
The occupational and industry breakdown of the workforce in both counties are very similar with the only significant difference – in Delaware there’re more people working in management, business, science, and arts (41.5% of total county labor force comparing with 35.2% in Philadelphia, see figures 7 and 8 for more details.)
Figure 7. Occupational category (in Civilian employed population 16 years and over)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. Selected Economic Characteristics. 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
Figure 8. Occupational category (in Civilian employed population 16 years and over)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. Selected Economic Characteristics. 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
Despite the similar industry structure, the earnings in two counties differ a lot. In Delaware, median earnings are 14% higher than in Philadelphia county (see figure 9.)
Figure 9. Median Earnings by Industry with the largest share of employed
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. INDUSTRY BY SEX AND MEDIAN EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2012 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) FOR THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYED POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER. 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
The reason is that Delaware County’s economy is developing very quickly. In 2013, Delaware County “was named a powerhouse in job growth in Pennsylvania” (DelcoPR, 2014.) Good location, great access to various forms of transportation, high-quality workforce, innovation, county officials implementing 10-years economic development strategy – all the named factors are contributing to the economic growth and quality of life.
In Philadelphia County the situation is different. For this County, manufacturing and the related distribution has been a foundation of the economy. After the World War II, the industrial production decreased, and the region re-oriented to service business (education, IT, finance and insurance, telecommunications, printing and publishing industries, etc.), medical and biomedical areas (City Data.). But the income levels are below the country average, economic growth projections are moderate.
The first research question was where people are more likely to build families and have children. As US Census data show, in Delaware county people are more likely to build families and have children. While the relation between racial and socio-cultural factors and percentage of family households cannot be established correctly, basing on available data, there might be correlation between level of income and share of people creating the family and having children. The higher are earnings and quality of life, the more people build families and have children, like in Delaware County. Vice versa, the higher poverty level is; the lower is willingness to build families with children.
The second research question was to define possible reasons why the median income is higher in Delaware County. Extremely favorable location, rapidly developing business and employment opportunities create the basis for households’ well-being. The relation between ethnical composition, age breakdown of the population, the other socio-demographical factors and income level cannot be established or, if established, is rather controversial.
In order to get proper understanding of socio-economic landscape of the counties of interest, it would be interesting to analyze the following factors: educational level, percentage of people receiving public assistance, percentage of people covered by insurance programs; key drivers of economic growth, state of small and medium business development, GDP per capita and other major factors. Also, it would be interesting to have a closer look at the history of both counties.
References:
- U.S. Census Bureau (2010). 2010 Census.
- Delco PR (2014). 2014 State of Delaware County. Patch.com. April 17, 2014 Retrieved from http://patch.com/pennsylvania/media/2014-state-of-delaware-county
