Inside these posts: Census

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Census: 13% of all U.S. homes are vacant

A vacant home in Ford Heights, Ill., April 27, 2009. (David Pierini/Chicago Tribune)

The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13 percent according to last week’s decennial census report. That’s up from 12.1 percent in 2007.

Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8 percent. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5 percent), Florida (17.5 percent), Arizona (16.3 percent) and Alaska (15.9 percent). Illinois was among those states with the lowest vacancies. Get the full story »

Black-owned businesses grow in number, not size

While the number of black-owned businesses are on the rise, 94 percent of them have no paid employees, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business owners released Tuesday.

At the same time, 87 percent of those businesses pull in less than $50,000 per year in revenue. Get the full story »

Illinois, Great Lakes states see exodus in 2010

(Steve Lasker/Chicago Tribune)

More people moved out of Illinois than moved to the state during 2010 as the Great Lakes states saw the greatest exodus of any region in the country, according to a study by United Van Lines that tracks migration patterns.

Western states like Nevada that had long served as a destination for those leaving the Rust Belt saw their traffic level off, according to United Van Lines’ 34th annual migration study.

The most popular destination in the nation was the District of Columbia, which held that distinction for the third consecutive year. Oregon finished second in the study, followed by North Carolina and Idaho.

The migration patterns in the study aren’t comprehensive because they are based only on the 146,837 interstate household moves handled by United Van Lines among the lower 48 states and District of Columbia. Get the full story »

Census says Illinois poverty rate up 24% since 1999

The poverty level in Illinois increased 24 percent over the past decade — to 13.3 percent in 2009, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau this morning.

Number of Americans in poverty jumps to 43.6M

The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty.

The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama’s first year in office.

Rust Belt big losers; Chicago still Third City

Hurt by the still-sluggish economy, Rust Belt cities and other U.S. manufacturing regions are suffering the biggest population losses as people search elsewhere for jobs.

New census estimates for 2009 highlight the continuing effects of the recession on the nation’s cities.

Still the numbers show New York remained the nation’s most populous city, with 8.4 million residents. It was followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. Others in the top 10 included San Antonio; San Diego, Calif.; Dallas; and San Jose, Calif.
Get the full story »