[EAS] US Statistical Abstract

Peter J. Kindlmann pjk at design.eng.yale.edu
Sat Dec 23 02:04:35 EST 2006


A rich source of data, even if you don't need it 
for holiday table talk or cocktail parties.
The last link leads to the European equivalent.  --PJK

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(from The Scout Report -- December 22, 2006)
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2006/scout-061222.php

Statistical Abstract of the United States

As year draws to a conclusion, the Statistical Abstract of the United
States offers plenty of fodder for discussion around the holiday table

Who Americans Are and What They Do, In Census Data
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/us/15census.html?bl&ex=1166418000&en=895f5826514c47bf&ei=5087%0A

Snapshot of the US: 65 days in front of the TV and five months of media
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1972530,00.html

Media occupies half of Americansí lives, data from Census shows
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS04/612150354/1024/NEWS04

New homes were cheapest in the South in 2005
http://www.dicksonherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS05/61215016

The 2007 Statistical Abstract [pdf, Excel]
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Eurostat [pdf]
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/

Most people are aware of the unwritten rule that politics and religion are
two subjects that should generally be avoided while visiting friends and
family to share a holiday meal or related activity. Fortunately, there is no
such rule that forbids discussing the educational attainment levels in
either Wisconsin or Massachusetts. Within the tables of the 2007 Statistical
Abstract of the United States, users will find the raw data that can be used
in such conversations. Released last week, the annual edition of the
Abstract contains 1400 tables that cover everything from Americans growing
problem with obesity to their seemingly insatiable appetite for media
consumption. The publication of this particular document by the U.S. Census
Bureau always attracts the attention of various commentators from Vermont to
Venice, and this year is certainly no different. Some of the data presented
in the Abstract represents a disturbing trend to a number of commentators,
including Professor Wayne Fields of Washington University who remarked,
ìWhat people used to rely on people they love for, and get face to face,
maybe they get that electronically now.î [KMG]

The first link will take users to a news piece from last weekís New York
Times which discusses some of the data found within this yearís Statistical
Abstract. Moving along, the second link leads to a bit more coverage of the
Abstract offered by Dan Glaister, reporting for the Guardian newspaper. The
third link will take visitors to a piece from the Rutland Herald that offers
some additional statistics culled from the Abstract, including the striking
observation that almost five months of the average Americanís year is taken
up by various media, ranging from reading the newspaper to listening to the
radio. Persons with an interest in housing will appreciate the forth link,
which leads to a news article from the Dickson Herald. The article notes
that the media sales price for a new single-family home in the South was
$197,300, which is far below the national median price of $240,900. The
fifth link whisks users away to the homepage of the 2007 Statistical
Abstract of the United States, where they may browse around all of its many
tables to their heartís content. The last link leads to the homepage of
Eurostat, which is the central statistical data collection agency for the
European Union.



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