Why is Census Data in the news so often?

Census data is frequently in the news because the Census Bureau releases analyses, reports and new data several times a month. These releases often prompt news stories or commentary because they generally describe changing demographics in certain regions of the country or among various population groups. The next time you see one of these news reports you can go to this link to the Census Bureau Press Releases page to find the press releases which have links to the source data. While these frequent releases are usually limited to analysis of larger geographies, such as regions, states or MSAs, sometimes county and city level data is available.

The Bureau releases are a true mixed bag, so you can read about how the Guam economy grew at 36%, or read some highlights from the new State and County 2008 population estimates released on May 14, 2009. The latter report tells us that:

• There is a greater than 13-year difference in the median ages of the state with the highest median age (Maine at 42) and the one with the lowest (Utah at 28.7). Kentucky's median age was 37.7.


• There are only 11 states where men make up the majority of the population. Alaska has the highest percentage of men at 52.1 percent. Following Alaska are Nevada (50.9 percent), Wyoming (50.7 percent), Utah (50.5 percent) and Colorado (50.4 percent). In Kentucky, males were only 48.9 percent of the total population.
  

Not all of the releases are the usual suspect demographics like race, eduation and poverty status. Just today, the Bureau released a report about how Internet usage has tripled from 1997 to 2007. By visiting this Bureau site you can now know the story behind the news story. I will put a link to the Press Releases page in the sidebar for quick access to this site in the future.