York, PA - The majority of York County adults drive to work alone. They are white, married, own a home and were born in Pennsylvania.
That's the portrait painted by recently released estimates from the 2005 through 2009 American Community Survey -- a five-year survey that includes information such as marital status, commute time to work, occupation and housing.
To show how the county has changed, the survey has been compared to the 2000 U.S. Census and includes the percent change between both data sets. David Polk, a York College behavioral science professor, has offered his analysis on the comparisons.
Here is data from four sections of the survey:
--- Marital Status
--Never married: 67,854 (Census)
Never married: 85,214 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 26 percent increase.
-- Now married: 188,834 (Census)
Now married: 191,282 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 1.3 percent increase.
-- Divorced: 27,304 (Census)
Divorced: 34,182 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 25 percent increase.
What the numbers mean
In the past, marriage was seen as a precursor to having children, Polk said.
"That is no longer the case," he said. "It's become more socially acceptable to have children outside of marriage."
A growing trend has shown that more women who wait until later in life to have children are doing so without getting married, Polk said.
For example, in the past year, 30.1 percent of all York County women between 15 and 50 years old who gave birth were not married, according to the survey.
"Times have changed," Polk said. During tough economic times, the marriage rate usually goes down, he said. The economy might stop people from getting married, "but it doesn't stop hormones from flowing."
--- Commute to work
-- Car, truck or van (drove alone): 162,775 (Census)
Car, truck or van (drove alone): 175,418 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 7.8 percent increase.
-- Car, truck or van (carpooled): 18,346 (Census)
Car, truck or van (carpooled): 19,121 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 4.2 percent increase.
-- Public transportation: 1,199 (Census)
Public transportation: 2,143 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 78.7 percent increase.
--Walked: 4,177 (Census)
Walked: 4,321 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 3.4 percent increase.
-- Worked at home: 5,171 (Census)
Worked at home: 6,160 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 19 percent increase.
--Mean travel time to work: 23.9 minutes (Census)
Mean travel time to work: 25.8 minutes (ACS estimates)
What the numbers mean
Polk said he wasn't surprised that it was taking people two minutes longer to get to work. "As our infrastructure becomes more and more overloaded because of an increased population, people could be traveling the same distance to work, but it's just taking them longer to get there," he said.
Also, technology such as high-speed internet and smart phones are allowing more people to work at home rather than in the office, Polk said.
"In addition, with the economy, more people may be getting downsized and deciding to open or run businesses from their homes," he said.
--- Occupation
-- Management, professional and related occupations: 55,609 (Census)
Management, professional and related occupations: 65,834 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 18 percent increase.
--Services: 24,565 (Census)
Services: 31,221 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 27.1 percent increase.
--Sales and office occupations: 51,260 (Census)
Sales and office occupations: 54,412 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 6.1 percent increase.
-- Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations: 786 (Census)
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations: 974 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 24 percent increase.
-- Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations: 19,334 (Census)
Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations: 22,411 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 16 percent increase.
-- Production, transportation, and material moving occupations: 44,408 (Census)
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations: 39,295 (ACS estimates)
Percent change: 11.5 percent decrease.
What the numbers mean
The number of service-related jobs have grown because workers are needed to serve customers in specific locations, Polk said.
Production, or manufacturing jobs, have dropped off as more companies opt to move to other locations either in the United States or overseas, he said.
Also, a symptom of the recession was that more people bought fewer products, requiring less labor on the part of many manufacturers.
"Just look at Harley-Davidson and all its layoffs," Polk said. "The economy does play a role."
Also of interest
· YorkCounts quality-of-life indicators help you make sense of York County: Ag use outpacing population growth.
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