Demographics Glossary

American Community Survey (ACS)

The American Community Survey is an ongoing annual survey conducted by the US Census Bureau that collects detailed demog...

Median Household Income

The income level at which half of all households earn more and half earn less. It includes wages, salaries, Social Secur...

Per Capita Income

Total personal income divided by total population. It represents the average income earned per person, including everyon...

Poverty Rate

The percentage of the population living below the federal poverty threshold, which varies by household size and composit...

Median Age

The age at which exactly half the population is older and half is younger. It provides a single number that summarizes t...

Median Home Value

The midpoint value of owner-occupied housing units. Half of homes are worth more and half are worth less. This is self-r...

Unemployment Rate

The percentage of the labor force that is jobless and actively seeking employment. The labor force includes both employe...

Gini Coefficient (Gini Index)

A measure of income inequality on a scale of 0 to 100. A score of 0 represents perfect equality (everyone earns the same...

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman would bear over her lifetime if current age-specific birth rates remained constan...

Life Expectancy at Birth

The average number of years a newborn infant would live if current mortality rates at each age remain constant throughou...

FIPS Code

Federal Information Processing Standards codes are numeric identifiers assigned to geographic entities (states, counties...

ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)

A statistical geographic area created by the Census Bureau that roughly corresponds to USPS ZIP codes. ZCTAs are built f...

Census Tract

A small, relatively permanent geographic area defined by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes. Census tracts gener...

Population Density

The number of people per unit of land area, typically expressed as people per square mile (US) or people per square kilo...

GDP Per Capita

Gross Domestic Product divided by total population. GDP measures the total value of all goods and services produced with...

Educational Attainment

The highest level of education completed by an individual, typically categorized as: less than high school, high school ...

Urbanization Rate

The percentage of a country's total population that lives in urban areas. The definition of "urban" varies by country bu...

Net Migration

The difference between the number of people entering and leaving a geographic area over a period. Positive net migration...

Population Growth Rate

The annual percentage change in total population, including both natural increase (births minus deaths) and net migratio...

Infant Mortality Rate

The number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births in a given year. It is one of the most sensi...

Median Gross Rent

The midpoint of gross rent payments for renter-occupied housing units. Gross rent includes contract rent plus estimated ...

Owner-Occupied Housing (Homeownership Rate)

The percentage of occupied housing units that are owned by the residents (as opposed to rented). The national homeowners...

Housing Vacancy Rate

The percentage of total housing units that are vacant (unoccupied). Includes seasonal homes, units for sale, units for r...

Dependency Ratio

The ratio of the non-working-age population (children under 15 and adults over 64) to the working-age population (15-64)...

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

An economic theory and conversion factor that adjusts GDP and income comparisons between countries to account for differ...