Survival And Prosperity

New Demographic Data For Chicago Released

New demographic data for Chicago has been released by the U.S. Census Bureau- and it’s enlightening. From the Census Bureau’s “Newsroom” yesterday:

Chicago’s Household Income at $43,628 in 2011, American Community Survey Shows

The median household income in Chicago was $43,628 in 2011, compared with the national figure of $50,502, according to statistics released today from the 2011 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, 20.4 percent of people in Chicago did not have health insurance coverage, compared with 15.1 percent nationally. A selected profile of Chicago appears below, including statistics on education, housing and the foreign-born population.

“The American Community Survey provides a wide range of important statistics about our nation’s people, housing and economy for all communities in the country – including Chicago,” said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau’s acting director. “The results are used by everyone from retailers, homebuilders and police departments, to town and city planners.”

The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as educational attainment, housing, employment, commuting, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs down to the smallest communities.

Other selected highlights for Chicago:

Education

• In 2011, 50.1 percent of the preschool age population was enrolled in school, which was not significantly
different from 47.4 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Among Chicago’s 25-and-older population, 80.7 percent completed high school or more, compared with 85.9 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Meanwhile, 33.5 percent of the 25-and-older population had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 28.5 percent nationally.

Housing

• In 2011, the median value for an owner-occupied home was $228,300. In the nation as a whole, the value was $173,600.
• In 2011, the median gross rent (rent plus utilities) was $905, compared with $871 in the nation as a whole.

Foreign-Born Population

• About 21.4 percent of people in Chicago were foreign-born, compared with 13.0 percent in the nation as a whole.

(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)

Median household income several thousand dollars below the national average.

Yet median value for owner-occupied homes more than $50,000 above the national average.

And today it’s being reported that unemployment across Illinois rose to 9.1 percent in August, the third straight month of increases in the state.

I wonder if more storm clouds aren’t on the horizon for residential real estate in the “Windy City?”

You can find out more information about the American Community Survey on the Census Bureau’s website here.

Tags: 2011 American Community Survey, Census Bureau, Chicago, health insurance, household income, Illinois, median gross rent, median home value, unemployment, urban living