An eye-opening, at-a-glance guide to the myths and realities of American demography. Is demography destiny? Corporate marketers and government agencies act as if it is, producing mountains of statistics about Americans—most always remarkably inaccessible and dry. Now, America by the Numbers puts the power of demography back in the people's hands, collecting and clearly explaining a vast amount of population data in easy-to-read, informative tables and graphs. From the new immigration to the aging of America, this guide reveals how the ebb and flow of population shapes every public and private decision we make. In an engaging and accessible form, America by the Numbers ranges across the US landscape as it offers the latest facts about racial conflict, class division, health, schooling, family life, crime, and political participation. The most recent in The New Press's highly successful popular guides to politics and economics—including The Ultimate Field Guide to the US Economy and Social Stratification in the United States—America by the Numbers is both a practical reference on US population trends and a probing examination of the roots of America's most pressing problems. B/W charts and graphs throughout.
In America by the Numbers you'll learn:
• One in three Americans is a baby boomer.
• The nation's elderly population will have grown 80% by 2025.
• During Revolutionary War times, less than 10% of households owned a gun.
• ZIP codes in which less than 1% of the population lives provide 23% of all presidential campaign contributions. Beverly Hills, zip code 90210, gave over $500,000 in 2000, while Watts, zip code 90059, gave a total of $250.
