Monthly Archives: February 2014

Single parent households more concentrated in Wayne County

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

In this post we examine the type of family households with children, whether they are two parent or single parent. According to the data, there are also thousands of homes in the region where single fathers or mothers take care of the home and children. As the data shows, there are more homes with single mothers than single fathers; these homes are more concentrated in Wayne County. According to data provided by the 2011 American Community Survey, a majority of family  households in Southeastern Michigan do not have any children under 18

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is described as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who all live together. A family household is described as a household that is maintained by the head of a family and includes people who live in that home who are not related. Non-family households are defined as households where a single person claims head of the household and if there are others living there, they are not related.

The graph above shows the total make up of family v non-family households in the seven county region. As can be seen, family households make up majority of the region, and in that sub-section it is family households without kids that make up  that majority. For family households with kids, that subsection is made up mostly of married families with kids.

The above map shows the percent of two-parent households with children under the age of 18 in each municipality in the seven-county region. Livingston County has seven communities in which 30-40 percent of its households are composed of two parents and children under 18. Washtenaw County has six such communities, and Wayne County has one (Canton). The percentage of families with children under 18 in Wayne County was 29.8. Fewer than 10 percent (9.2) of the households in the City of Detroit were made up of two-parent households with children below the age of 18.

The above map shows the percent of two-parent households with children under the age of 18 in each municipality in the seven-county region. Livingston County has seven communities in which 30-40 percent of its households are composed of two parents and children under 18. Washtenaw County has six such communities, and Wayne County has one (Canton). The percentage of families with children under 18 in Wayne County was 29.8. Fewer than 10 percent (9.2) of the households in the City of Detroit were made up of two-parent households with children below the age of 18.

While Detroit had the smallest percentage of two-parent households with children, it also had one of the highest percentage(s) of family households with children under 18 led by single mothers. According to the data, 16.6 percent of the households in Detroit in 2011 were led by single mothers with children. The City of Inkster topped the list with 18.1 percent of family households being led by single mothers with children, while the City of River Rouge had 16.9 percent and the City of Highland Park had 16.4 percent.

All of these communities are located in Wayne County. Pontiac, in Oakland County, had 14.5 percent of its households led by single mothers with children in 2011.

The data also shows that the percentage of single mother households with children in the region is much higher than the percentage of single father households with children. According to the data, Wayne County had the highest percentage, with 2.4, and Washtenaw County had the lowest, with 1.6 percent. In the tri-county area, Melvindale had the highest percentage of family households led by single fathers at 9.5 percent. In Macomb County, Ray Township was the community with the highest percent at 8.2; in Oakland County it was Pontiac with 7.2 percent.

 

Income inequality gap larger in big cities

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

In a study recently conducted by the Brooking’s Institute it was found that, in big cities, the rich are richer and the poor are poorer. For example, Atlanta was found to have the largest income equality gap in 2012 because residents of the city in the 95th percentile of the city’s income scale made at least $279,827, while residents in the 20th percentile of the scale made, at most, $14,850 in 2012. For Detroit, residents in the 95 percentile of the income scale made at least about $100,000; this was about 12 times the amount of residents at the 20th percentile mark.

In this New York Times article is a scatter plot that shows income equality for several large cities, including Detroit.

Employment and home prices increase in Detroit area

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

•The unemployment rate in Detroit and across the state has been decreasing; (monthly)
•The Purchasing Manager’s Index for Southeast Michigan increased from December 2013 to January 2013; (monthly)
•The Commodity Price Index experienced a decrease from November 2013 to December 2013 for Southeast Michigan; (monthly)
•Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Index show that the prices of homes in the Detroit area have been experiencing an increase; (monthly)
•The Consumer Price Index in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area experienced a decrease from October 2013 to December.
Slide2According to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, from November to December of this year the unemployment rate for the State of Michigan has decreased from 8.8 to 8.4 percent. The City of Detroit also experienced an unemployment rate decrease. In November the rate was recorded at 15.1 percent and in December it was recorded at 14.6 percent. In 2013 the city’s unemployment peak was in January; it was recorded at 19.1. Unemployment rates for Michigan in 2014 have not yet been made available through the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
Slide4The number of employed in the City of Detroit increased 28,125 people in November to 286,955 in December of 2013. In December of 2012 there were 287,550 people employed.
Slide6The above chart shows the number of people employed in auto manufacturing industry in the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area throughout 2012 and into 2013. Although there was a peak of employment in the auto manufacturing and auto parts manufacturing industries from in November (92,400 people were employed in the Detroit MSA) that number decreased in December. In December it was reported there were 92,00 people employed in these industries; in December of 2012 there were 78,200 people reported to be employed.
Slide8

The Purchasing Manger’s Index (PMI) is a composite index derived from five indicators of economic activity: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. A PMI above 50 means the economy is expanding.

According to the most recent data released on Southeast Michigan’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, there was a increase of 1.7 points from December 2013 to January 2014. In January 2014, a PMI of 52.3 was recorded, which is reflective of a slight increase in new orders and production; these indicators typically are lower during the end of the year.

Slide10

The Commodity Price Index, which is a weighted average of selected commodity prices, was recorded at 56.7  in January 2014, which was 4.4 lower than the previous month.

Slide12Slide13

The above charts show the Standard and Poor’s Case Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area. The index includes the price for homes that have sold but does not include the price of new home construction, condos, or homes that have been remodeled.

According to the index, the average price of single-family dwellings sold in Metro Detroit was $93,490 in November 2013. This was an increase of approximately $13,850 from the average price in November 2012.

Slide15Slide16The Consumer Price Index measures the change in prices in a fixed market. The index is based on prices of “food, clothing, shelter, fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors’ and dentists’ services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The above graphs show the percent change in the price index measurements. The first graph shows there was a .7 percent decrease in the overall Consumer Price Index from October to December of 2013 in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is mainly based on the fact that energy costs decreased by 3 percent.

For the Consumer Price Index Less Food and Energy, there was a 0.6 percent decrease in the index to 1.3 because of a decrease in apparel and recreation costs.

All the single ladies (and men): Ann Arbor has highest percent of single residents

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

Singlehood in Ann Arbor and Detroit is quite popular, according to data provided by the 2012 American Community Survey. When comparing the City of Detroit to the other municipalities that make up the seven-county region, Detroit was one of only four municipalities where over 40 percent of females 15 and older have never been married. For males, Detroit was one of 22 municipalities in which more than 40 percent of the male population was single. Given these percentages, however, Detroit was not the city in the seven-county region with the highest percentage of people who have never been married. That distinction belonged to Ann Arbor, where over 50 percent of both the male and female population was single in 2012.

When looking at both the tri-county and seven county region, there were only four municipalities in 2012 where more than 40 percent of the female population, 15 years of age and older, had never been married by 2012. These municipalities were: Ann Arbor, Detroit,  Highland Park and Pontiac. Ann Arbor had the highest percentage of single females at 51.6 percent; Detroit was closely behind at 50.1 percent.  Highland Park came in third at 47.5 percent and Pontiac came in fourth at 42 percent.

When looking at the Southeast Michigan map,  the outlying counties (Livingston, Monroe, St. Clair, and Washtenaw) were predominantly composed of communities where the population of single females ranged from 10 to 20 percent.  Wayne County was the only county in the region where the percent of the single, never married, female population was above 20 percent in all communities.

According the American Community Survey, there were more single males in the City of Detroit in 2012 and in the seven-county region than there were single females. The number of municipalities in the Southeast Michigan region where 40 percent or more of the male population was never married by 2012 is more than double the number of municipalities with the same percentage of single females.

Of the 22 municipalities where more than 40 percent of the male population was single and never married, Ann Arbor had the highest percentage at 58.4 percent. Wayne and Oakland counties both had the highest number of communities (6) where more than 40 percent of the male population was single in 2012. In Wayne County, the City of Highland Park had the highest percentage of men never married at 56.5; the City of River Rouge came in second with 55.3 percent and the City of Detroit came in third with 54.9.

In addition to Washtenaw County having the community with the highest single male population, it also has the highest number of communities where only 10 to 20 percent are single. There are four such communities in Washtenaw County and one in Livingston County.

Michigan and Detroit post weak performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a test fourth and eighth grade students take on a frequent basis to represent the knowledge of this nation’s students. Assessments are conducted in various subjects, including math and reading. Students have consistently tested in these two subjects since 1990. The results from these assessments are to serve as a common metric for all states and urban trial districts. There are few changes in the assessments on a year-to-year basis, and if there are changes they are documented.

The Commissioner of Education Statistics, who heads the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education, is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.

According to the NAEP, the State of Minnesota has remained above the national average and the scores of the Great Lakes states since the math portion of this benchmark test was introduced in 1992. From 1992 to 2013 Minnesota students in fourth and eighth grade have shown improvements in their NAEP math scores. For the State of Michigan though, there has not been such vast improvements. Yes, from 1992 to 2013 there has been an overall increase in fourth and eighth grade math test scores. However,  since 2007 fourth-graders have performed below the national level on the NAEP math test; eighth-graders have performed below that level since 2005. From 2011 to 2013 there was a slight upswing in the fourth-graders’ test scores (236 to 237) but Michigan had the lowest score in the Great Lakes region. This was true for the eighth grade NAEP math test scores as well in 2013. However, from 2011 to 2013 there was not an increase; both years the scores remained at 280.

For the NAEP reading scores, Michigan has performed below the national level since 2007 at the fourth grade level. At the eighth grade level though the state has only performed at or below the national level in 2007 and 2013. In 2013, the eighth grade reading scores increased from 265 in 2011 to 266; the national score was 266.

In addition to the NAEP test that is conducted across the country, the trial urban district scores are also produced by the NAEP. These scores are representative of all students in participating urban districts supported by federal appropriations authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act. However, the scores are based off a random sample of students in the districts; these results are also included in the overall NAEP scores for their specific state.

The Detroit Public School (DPS) system became a trial urban district in 2009. According to the data presented below, DPS has performed below all the other urban trial districts in the Great Lakes State region, along with the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. public school districts. The fourth grade math trial scores is the only area where Detroit students showed an increase from 2011 to 2013. Even that score though (204) was 12 points below the next lowest score; this was Cleveland Public Schools (216).

 

Detroit News deems Detroit as America’s deadliest city for children

by drawingdadmin | Leave a comment

According to a study published by the Detroit News, in 2010 the death rate for Detroit children 18 years and under was 120 per 100,000 residents. This was the highest rate in the country; Detroit was also the only city where the rate was over 100 children per 100,000 residents. Through the News’ findings it was determined the city is dangerous for children because of prematurity and violence. To read the study click here. To see our past coverage on infant mortality rates click here.