Census Bureau News -- State and Metropolitan Area Data

Rochester, Minn., Leads Metro Areas in Prevalence of Physicians

Census Bureau Releases Comprehensive State and Metro Area Data Book

WASHINGTON, July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rochester, Minn., home to the famed Mayo Clinic, had the highest rate of physicians (1,871) per 100,000 people in 2007 of any metro area in the country, according to data from the American Medical Association contained in a publication released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Metro areas that contained well-known "college towns," such as Ann Arbor, Mich.; Charlottesville, Va.; Durham, N.C.; and Iowa City, Iowa, also had high rates.

The prevalence of physicians is among the 1,600 data items found in the 2010 edition of the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. Published periodically since 1979, this reference tool serves as a statistical guide to the social, economic, political and demographic structure of the United States.

The data, provided at the national, state, metropolitan, micropolitan and county levels, come from nonprofit organizations, private businesses and government statistical agencies, including

the Census Bureau. Broad topics covered include births, health care, education, elections, crime, employment, housing, immigration, language, income and poverty, retail sales, science and engineering, social services, tourism, manufactures, marriages and divorces, natural resources, business establishments, agriculture, energy, traffic fatalities, transportation and commuting, communications, construction, finance and elections.

The data tables also are available in Microsoft Excel and PDF format on the Web at http://www.census.gov/compendia/databooks/. These tables, which include historical data, will be updated periodically.

Editor's note: The report can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/compendia/databooks/.

Highlights include:

Agriculture

• In 2008, national net farm income was $87.3 billion– up from $50.7 billion in 2000. Net

farm income topped $3 billion in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.

• Government payments to farmers in 2007 amounted to $11.9 billion, down 105 percent from 2005.
• The majority (59.8 percent) of American farms sold less than $10,000 worth of agricultural goods in 2007; only 16.2 percent sold more than $100,000.

Energy

• Energy expenditures amounted to $4,093 for the average person in 2007, up from

$2,449 in 2000.  Per capita energy expenditures varied widely among states – from $9,191 in Alaska to $3,179 in Arizona.

• Between 2000 and 2007, total annual energy consumption increased 2.6 percent

(from 98,866 trillion to 101,468 trillion BTUs), but energy expenditures rose

79.3 percent (688 billion to 1.2 trillion).

Transportation

• As of 2007, the United States had 205.7 million licensed drivers and 247.3 million motor vehicles registered. The nation suffered 41,059 traffic fatalities in the same year,

37.7 percent of which were alcohol-related.

• Among all 601,411 bridges across the nation in 2008, more than 25 percent were deficient and obsolete.

Communications

• Between December 2000 and December 2007, the number of mobile wireless telephone subscribers increased 147 percent, from 101 million to 249 million.
• At the same time, the number of English-language daily newspapers declined 5 percent from 2000 to 2008 (from 1,480 to 1,408). Net paid circulation also decreased over the period (from 55.8 million in 2000 to 48.6 million in 2008). Among states, circulation per capita was highest in Virginia (0.40), although the District of Columbia had a rate of 1.63.

Health care

• They enjoy immense natural beauty, but Oregon and Washington also had to endure the most expensive average daily costs per community hospital stay among states in 2007, at $2,336 and $2,332, respectively. A state equivalent, the District of Columbia, stood at

$2,381. Three other western states – California, Arizona and Alaska – also topped $2,000 per day, as did several states along the East Coast (Maryland, Massachusetts

and New Jersey). The national average was $1,690 per day.

Health risks

• In 2008, 27 percent of America was obese, with statewide rates ranging from 33 percent in Mississippi to 19 percent in Colorado.
• Likewise, the percentage of adults who smoked varied from 27 percent in West Virginia to 9 percent in Utah, with the national average at 18 percent. The percentage of adults who are binge drinkers, 16 percent nationwide, ranged from 23 percent in Wisconsin to 8 percent in Utah.

Commute to Work

New York and Washington had the most arduous commutes to work of any metro areas, with an average travel time of 34 and 33 minutes, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, commuters in Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn., spent 14 minutes a day getting to work.

Police Officers

In 2006, there were 31 police officers per 10,000 people in the United States. Among states, New York had the highest ratio, with 47 police officers per 10,000 people (the District of Columbia had 75) and West Virginia and Minnesota had the lowest, both with a ratio of 21 officers to 10,000 people.

Finance

• The number of declared business bankruptcies increased 121 percent between 2006 and 2008, from 19,695 to 43,546. In California alone, 6,404 businesses declared bankruptcy

in 2008. (Table A-44).

• There were fewer FDIC-insured institutions in December 2008 (8,288) than in December 2000 (9,887). However, at the national level, both assets and deposits increased substantially during the same period (86 percent and 75 percent, respectively). Illinois still had more FDIC-insured institutions than any other state (655) in 2008, but its total was down considerably from 2000 (828).

Exports

• In 2008, the value of U.S. exports was $1.3 trillion. More than one fourth (26.2 percent) were from two states, Texas ($192.2 billion) and California ($144.8 billion).
• The total value of U.S. agricultural exports in 2008 was $115.5 billion, up from $50.8 billion in 2000.

Unions

In 2008, 17.8 million workers, or 13.7 percent, were covered by a union. New York had the highest coverage at 26.6 percent and Georgia the lowest at 4.6 percent.

The 2010 State and Metropolitan Area Data Book may be obtained by calling the U.S. Government Printing Office at 202-512-1800 (ISBN No. 9780160841897, $54 for the soft cover edition http://bookstore.gpo.gov/).

Copies are also available by calling the National Technical Information Service at 800-363-2068 or 703-605-6060 (http://www.ntis.gov/products/statabs.aspx).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau