[Source: US Census Bureau March 2002] This report presents data on the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the Black population in the United States, based on the Annual Demographic Supplement to the March 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS). The topics covered are geographic distribution; age, sex, and marital status distribution; family type and family size; educational attainment; labor force participation and unemployment; occupation; family income; and poverty status. Data for these characteristics are compared with those of the non-Hispanic White population.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Blacks continue to be concentrated in the South.
In March 2002, 36.0 million people in the United States, or 13 percent of the civilian non-institutionalized population, were Black. The majority of Blacks lived in the South (55 percent), a similar proportion (18 percent) lived in the Northeast and the Midwest, and 9 percent lived in the West.Blackregions
Over one-half (52 percent) of all Blacks lived in a central city within a metropolitan area, compared with 21 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. In contrast, 57 percent of non-Hispanic Whites lived outside the central city but within the metropolitan area, compared with 36 percent of Blacks. Only 13 percent of Blacks and 22 percent of non-Hispanic Whites lived in non-metropolitan areas.
AGE, SEX, AND MARITAL STATUS DISTRIBUTION
The Black population is younger than the non-Hispanic White population.
In 2002, 33 percent of all Blacks were under 18, compared with 23 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. Only 8 percent of Blacks were 65 and older, compared with 14 percent of non-Hispanic Whites.
A larger proportion of Black males than non-Hispanic White males were under 18 (36 percent compared with 24 percent). In contrast, 7 percent of Black males and 12 percent of non-Hispanic White males were 65 and over. A greater percentage of Black females (30 percent) than non-Hispanic White females (22 percent) were under age 18, while 9 percent of Black females and 16 percent of non-Hispanic White females were 65 and over.
Blacks are less likely to be married than non-Hispanic Whites.
Among the 26.2 million Blacks and the 158.3 million non-Hispanic Whites 15 and older, 10 percent of each were divorced and about 6 percent of each were widowed, but 43 percent of Blacks had never married, compared with 25 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. Blacks were less likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to be currently married (35 percent and 57 percent, respectively).
The marital distributions of Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites varied by sex. In 2002, in both groups, women were more likely than men to be widowed, separated, or divorced, and less likely to be never married or currently married. Black men were more likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to be never married: 45 percent and 28 percent, respectively. The comparable figures for women were 42 percent and 21 percent.
FAMILY TYPE AND FAMILY SIZE
Fewer Black families are married-couple families.
In 2002, there were 8.8 million Black families and 53.6 million non-Hispanic White families in the United States. Nearly 43 percent of Black families were maintained by women with no spouse present, and 9 percent were maintained by Black men with no spouse present.
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
More Black women than Black men aged 25 and over have earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
Of the 20.4 million Blacks and 133. 4 million non-Hispanic Whites 25 and older, a lower percentage of Blacks had earned at least a high school diploma (79 percent and 89 percent, respectively). The proportion of all non-Hispanic Whites with at least a bachelor’s degree (29 percent) was higher than that of all Blacks (17 percent).Blackeducation
More Black women than Black men had earned at least a bachelor’s degree (18 percent compared with 16 percent, while among non-Hispanic Whites, a higher proportion of men than women had earned at least a bachelor’s degree (32 percent and 27 percent, respectively).
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Blacks participate in the labor force at a lower rate than non-Hispanic Whites.
Among the 216.8 million members of the civilian population aged 16 and over in 2002, 25.4 million (12 percent) were Black and
155.1 million (72 percent) were non-Hispanic White. Non-Hispanic White men had a higher civilian labor force participation rate than Black men (73 percent compared with 68 percent), and for both groups, men had higher rates than women.9 However, the rate for Black women (62 percent) was higher than that for non-Hispanic White women (60 percent).
Unemployment is higher among Blacks than non-Hispanic Whites.
In March 2002, the unemployment rate for Blacks was twice that for non-Hispanic Whites (11 percent and 5 percent, respectively). This finding was consistent for both men (12 percent compared with 6 percent) and women (10 percent compared with 4 percent).
POVERTY STATUS
Blacks accounted for about one quarter of the population in poverty in 2001.
An estimated 8.1 million Blacks lived below the poverty level in 2001. The poverty rate, which was 12 percent for the total population, was 23 percent for Blacks and 8 percent for non-Hispanic Whites. Among all children under age 18, the poverty rate was 16 percent, but it was three times as high for Black children (30 percent) as for non-Hispanic White children (10 percent).
Blackpoverty About 10 percent of all men were below the official poverty line in 2001, but the rate for Black men (20 percent) was nearly three times that for non-Hispanic White men (7 percent). Among men 65 and over, the rate for Blacks was three times as high (16 percent) as the rate for non-Hispanic Whites (5 percent). In 2001, the poverty rate for Black women (25 percent) was more than twice that for non-Hispanic White women (9 percent); for women 65 and older, the rates were 26 percent and 10 percent,respectively.
Families maintained by women with no spouse present have higher poverty rates overall.
In 2001, 1.8 million Black families and 3.1 million were non-Hispanic White. However, a greater percentage of Black families than of non-Hispanic White families were poor: 21 percent compared with 6 percent. A larger proportion of Black married-couple families (8 percent) than of non-Hispanic White families (3 percent) were poor. Poverty was highest in families maintained by women with no spouse present: 35 percent for Black families compared with 19 percent for non-Hispanic White families. Black families maintained by men with no spouse present were more likely to live in poverty (19 percent) than comparable non-Hispanic White families (10 percent).
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