Thursday, October 26, 2006

Statistics: US numbers

Statistics are facts. I remember a discussion I had with a friend, on whether facts and truth are the same thing. As it usually goes, this exchange had ended without a conclusion. Athough, I have often thought about this hence.
I always believe that people who are statistically inclined are closer to reality. Personally I strive to be so, but am seldom not. Often numbers leave us disillusioned, shattering long held beliefs. I have always believed that nothing proves a point better than numbers.

I was reading the Time magazine and came across some interesting numbers about US. I believe such numbers can provide crucial insights into the society. So here goes..
In America
- Of the 300 million, 51% are women.
- Alaska is the most sparsely populated state (1 person per square mile) and New Jersey is most densely populated (1,134 people per square mile)
- 35.8% children are born to unmarried women
- 6.1% of people are over 75 old and this is expected to be 11.6% in 2045.
- Half of the people aged 25 to 29 are unmarried
- Of those over 25, 29% of men and 25.8% of women have finished 4 years of college.
- 12.6% Americans live in poverty
- Howard Stern makes $1000 every 24 seconds
- Average American works 46.2 weeks a year
- 32% people are at work by 8:00 AM, whereas 37% are still in bed. 50% people are preparing for bed by 10 PM
- Half of the people earn less than $30,000 a year and 90% less than $100,000
- 9,677 people have an income of more than 10 million
- 582,213 people have a income between $500k and 2 million
- Of every 1000 working people: 27 are Cashiers, with a median salary of $16,260, and 3 are Computer programmers, with a median salary of $63,420