Demographics in the United States

The main tool for U.S. demographics is the data compiled by the U.S. census Bureau. For more information, see Census Bureau Information entry or the links on The Demography and Housing page from the University of Michigan.

You can enter an address in the U.S. and get population (including race), income and housing data for the surrounding Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) using the FFIEC’s free Geocoding System.

You can get demographic profiles of neighborhoods — organized by Zip Code — from the National Encyclopedia of Zip Code Demographics on Lexis (GEODEM;ZIPREZ). For a general idea of what kind of person lives in a particular zip code, try the free search on MyBestSegments.

Lexis also has demographics databases broken down by County (GEODEM;CNTREZ), Metropolitan Statistical Area (GEODEM;MSAREZ), Metropolitan Statistical Area/Workplace (GEODEM;MSAWRK), State (GEODEM;STAREZ), and the entire US (GEODEM;USAREZ), all provided by Nielson Claritas.

RESEARCH TIP: The Official Statement for school bond issues generally provides detailed demographic information relating to the community.

For demographic information about countries other than the U.S., see the links listed under International Demographic & Population Data from the University of Tulane. Also see the Country Information entry.

US Legislator Demographics Resources

Over the past thirty-five years, legislatures have been transformed from institutions of nearly complete homogeneity to diverse bodies that increasingly reflect the American population.

Since 1969, the number of women serving in legislatures has increased substantially from several hundred to 1,667-or 22.6 percent of the 7382 seats. About 60 percent of women legislators are Democrats, but Republican women have been closing the gap in recent elections.

The 2000 census revealed that the percentage of Americans reporting Hispanic heritage was roughly equal to the percentage of African-Americans at about 12.5 percent each. That equality is not evident in state legislatures where 8.1 percent of legislators are Black and only 2.9 percent are Latino.

Lawyers are still the largest occupational group in legislatures but they are an increasingly smaller percentage. Only about 15 percent of legislators are attorneys down considerably from the mid-seventies when one-quarter of legislators were lawyers.

The average age of a state legislator is 53 and has declined slightly in recent years with the advent of term limits.

See Also

Census Bureau Information
Country Information
Market Research
Metropolitan Areas
Population
Zip Codes