New State/Local Data for February 2008


U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050

If current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005, and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants, according to new projections developed by the Pew Research Center. Of the 117 million people added to the population during this period due to the effect of new immigration, 67 million will be the immigrants themselves and 50 million will be their U.S.-born children or grandchildren. Other projections include:

  • Nearly one in five Americans (19%) will be an immigrant in 2050, compared with one in eight (12%) in 2005. By 2025, the immigrant, or foreign born, share of the population will surpass the peak during the last great wave of immigration a century ago.
  • The major role of immigration in national growth builds on the pattern of recent decades, during which immigrants and their U.S.-born children and grandchildren accounted for most population increase. Immigration's importance increased as the average number of births to U.S.-born women dropped sharply before leveling off.
  • The Latino population, already the nation's largest minority group, will triple in size and will account for most of the nation's population growth from 2005 through 2050. Hispanics will make up 29% of the U.S. population in 2050, compared with 14% in 2005.
  • Births in the United States will play a growing role in Hispanic and Asian population growth; as a result, a smaller proportion of both groups will be foreign-born in 2050 than is the case now.
  • The non Hispanic white population will increase more slowly than other racial and ethnic groups; whites will become a minority (47%) by 2050.
  • The nation's elderly population will more than double in size from 2005 through 2050, as the baby boom generation enters the traditional retirement years. The number of working age Americans and children will grow more slowly than the elderly population, and will shrink as a share of the total population.

Please refer to the Colorado State Demography Office for forecasts, estimates and historical population data for the state of Colorado, its counties and other political subdivisions.

What It's Worth: Field of Training and Economic Status in 2004

According to the US Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), workers who held vocational certificates in engineering averaged about $3,880 a month, which is nearly the same as those with bachelor's degrees in natural science. Likewise, those with associate's degrees in computers averaged about $3,760 a month, which is close to those with bachelor's degrees in education or social science. A series of national-level data tables examines the relationship between field of training for post-secondary degree holders and monthly earnings. They also present data on the average years taken to start and complete various degrees and on occupation of workers by educational attainment and field of degree. Other highlights include:

  • Business was a popular field of training in 2004, as 8.6 million people held bachelor's degrees, 3.9 million earned associate's degrees and 2.7 million received advanced degrees in this field. Those with bachelor's degrees in engineering earned an average of $5,992 a month.
  • People who pursued higher degrees often spent more than the minimum number of years to complete the degree or certificate. On average, students took more than a year to complete vocational programs, more than four years to complete associate's degrees and more than five years to complete bachelor's degrees.
  • Women earned less than men at every degree level. The female-to-male average monthly earnings ratio for full-time workers 18 and older in 2004 was 0.71 for women who held bachelor's degrees and 0.67 for women with master's, doctorate or professional degrees. The ratios were not statistically different from one another at these levels of education.

Farm Household Economics and Well-Being

USDA Economic Research Service released its latest forecast of a) household income for 2008 (and estimates for earlier years), b) the composition of farm household income, c) and comparisons of income for farm households relative to other U.S. households. These data are based on the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). Note that the farm operator household income estimates presented here differs from other estimates as it includes farm operator income from a variety of sources other than farm businesses. Highlights include:

  • In 2008, average farm operator household income is projected to be $89,434, up 6.3% from 2007, and 19.2% above the 5-year average of 2002-06.
  • The increase in income is the result of increases in both farm and off-farm sources. The large increase in farm earnings from 2007 was primarily the result of continued growth in cash grain and soybean receipts.
  • In 2007, average farm operator household income is estimated to be $84,159, up 8.4% from 2006.
  • Average farm household income was 16.7% higher than U.S. average household income in 2006 (the last year for which comparable data exist). In the 15 major agricultural states surveyed in ARMS, average farm household income exceeded the state average household income in every state.
  • Farm operator household income is more variable than U.S. household income, and a larger share of farm households have negative income. Over the last 10 years, 5-6% of farm households had negative income, compared with 1% of U.S. households.
  • Average household income varies considerably across farms, by farm typology (based on gross sales and major occupation of the principal operators), farm commodity specialization, and geographic location.