Capitol Alert: Census data show big differences within state

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Capitol Alert

The latest on California politics and government

October 19, 2009

Census data show big differences within state

There are immense differences among California's 58 counties in ethnic makeup, birthrates and personal income - factors that give the state more the characteristics of a large nation rather than a typical American state, a new Census Bureau data dump indicates.

The new report, called "USA Counties," covers a variety of economic and demographic conditions and allows both state-by-state and county-by-county comparisons.

California, for instance, has the nation's proportionately largest Latino population, 36.6 percent, just slightly ahead of Texas, but the proportion within the state ranges widely, from 76.8 percent in Imperial County to 4.9 percent in equally rural Trinity County.

Another big gap is found in birthrates. California's, 15.6 babies per 1,000 population, is the nation's sixth highest but within the state, birthrates range from Tulare County's 20.1, almost as high as Utah's first-in-nation 20.7, to just 5 in remote, mountainous Sierra County.

Another wide gap is found in income levels. California's median annual household income of $59,928 (2007) is the nation's eighth highest, nearly $10,000 above the national median. But within the state, median incomes range from $84,625 in Santa Clara County, home of Silicon Valley, with other Bay Area counties just slightly behind, to a low of $33,576 in Imperial, with its large population of poor farmworkers.

The new data set is available here.

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