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| Image: Living like this isn't
so bad.... There are simply too many statistics in the General Plan housing element for me to ignore. As a numbers nerd these stats stick in my head, bounce around for a month or so, and then come out at strange times. I can regurgitate them at cocktail parties to impress my friends and enemies (I attend several cocktail parties each week as part of the Chico "Glitterati"). I often follow my wife around the house using statistics to back up why I don't want to do things around the house. For example, I might say "972 very low income households are single parents, so I shouldn't have to take out the trash". The poor application of statistical information is something I've developed a fondness for. Along those lines, I think if more Chicoans have the same base of useless statistical knowledge, it will be more likely that my non-sequetors seem intellectual. So here comes more useless knowledge. In 2000 50% of households in Chico were families. Of those 50%, 56% had children and 44% did not. So roughly 25% of households have children. 29% of households were singles. 21% were other non-families. In 2008 51% were families, 55% w/ children 45% without. 30% were singles (I'm producing a GIS map of this demographic for TJ this afternoon). 19% were other non-families (students). Total households in 2008 was 26,520 with an average household size of 2.41 and an average family size of 3.05. The average household size is used to calculate the AMI (adjusted median income?) for our area. For Chico the AMI is $46,350(*note below). Extremely low income households (income<$15,000) make up 16% of total number of Chico households. Very low income ($15,000<income<$23,000) make up 10% of households. Low income ($23,000<income<$38,000) account for 15% of households. Moderate and above income ($38,000+ make up 58% of households. The total household population (which I assume is the same as the total population) has grown 1.6% annually between 2000 and 2008 and the breakdown in income distribution has remained the same. One statistic that I found interesting is that the 2000 AMI = $29,359, while the 2008 AMI = $54,500 (based on a 4 person family). But that's nearly a 100% increase in household income during an 8 year period. I find that hard to believe. Anecdotally, a good paying job in Chico is not easy to find. That number is from the US Census, and not Chico specific. has anyone out there had a 100% increase in household income in the last 8 years? If so, how did it happen? 4% families in poverty were married couples. 7% were female-headed with children and 2% were male-headed with children. Non-family households made up 75% of those living in poverty. These non-family households are typically students. Total households living in poverty made up 26% of Chico households. Another odd statistic I ran across was that 4% of Chico homes were overcrowded (more than 1 person per room in the household), and 0.4% are severely overcrowded (more than 1.5 persons per room). In the army I had between 3 and 4 roommates at any one time. We were packed in like sardines. Well-armed sardines. So that's the housing element staff report up to page 80 (of 212). Now go out and use those statistics. *NOTE: The document references two numbers for median income. One is in the mid $50K's, the other is in the mid $40K's. The smaller seems to be adjusted based on the actual household size in Chico, while the larger seems to be from the US Census. I'm not sure why there is a difference, but I restated the numbers as the city used them in the housing element of the General Plan. |
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Statistically Speaking
Lon
About Me: Fasten your seatbelts for an exhilarating trip through Chico's public policy; I guarantee it's marginally better than public access TV.
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