The US Census Bureau recently released the American Community Survey for 2005. This massive data collection and compilation effort sheds new light on the state of the US population. For people like me (data freaks), it’s a treasure trove of tables and statistics and listings and rankings. Even for those among us who aren’t so enamored of percentiles and margins of error, it is an incredibly valuable resource for analysis of how Texans are faring. I’ll spare you a trip through the monstrous Census Bureau website by pointing out a few things I consider crucial to the future prosperity of the Lone Star State.
Let me begin by saying that there’s no one more pro-Texas than I am. I’ve worked long and hard to try to improve the lives of those fortunate enough to live here, assisting communities, businesses, and legislators from the Panhandle to the border and from the Big Bend to the Piney Woods. We’re doing some things incredibly well right now—bringing in new life in industries ranging from next-generation microelectronics to leading-edge biosciences. In fact, Texas has won the Governor’s Cup (a prize for the state with the largest corporate locations) for several years running.
However, there are some other things we aren’t doing quite so well. And without some serious intervention, the long-term performance of the state economy (not to mention the opportunities for all Texans) will decline.
First, the good news: we’re young. The median age of the Texas population is just 33.2 years. The only more youthful state is Utah. Maine’s median age is 41.2, and 13 other states have a median age at least five years older than that of Texas. Not only are there issues involved with an aging population (greater need for certain social services, for example), but there are also big benefits to youth in terms of attracting businesses. No company will intentionally locate in an area without an adequate labor supply. With plenty of young people, we look really good in this area.
I don’t consider our ranking in median household income either particularly good or bad. While it’s a mediocre 35 among the 50 states (plus DC), there’s more to this story than that. The highest income areas are concentrated in the northeast and in places like Hawaii and Alaska. California falls in the top 10 as well. Even so, I’d rather live in Texas on our average (just over $42,000 per year per household) than in New Jersey on theirs (almost $62,000). Differentials in the cost of living—everything from houses to gasoline to winter heating bills—offset much of this gap. And we’re still significantly better off than some others; Mississippi’s median household income is less than $33,000 per year. Much of our shortcoming in this arena comes from the border region, and we have a lot of work to do to assure economic opportunities in that dynamic segment of our state.
But here is the really bad news. Texas ranks almost dead last among all states (and DC) in the percentage of those age 25 or older who have completed high school (or the equivalent). In fact, less than 79% of Texans fit this category. Compare that to the more than 90% in five states or the better than 84% for the US as a whole.
Obviously, these percentages don’t change overnight since we’re dealing with everyone in the state who’s 25 years old or older. In fact, there’s some chance the percentages are going the right direction even now to the degree that more young people are staying in school. Still, the sheer magnitude of the gap between the Lone Star State and some of the others means that we cannot relax our efforts one iota.
Within the state, performance among cities varies widely. More on this at a later date, but it is striking to compare the income, poverty, and education levels of various cities around Texas.
We’re blessed with an abundance of raw materials in the form of a young and growing population. There are other states whose attractiveness for business activity is waning along with the number of young people who will be coming up through the workforce.
Even so, many of these young people are living in poverty and are not graduating from high school. Nor are they tending to pursue college educations or advanced degrees at a rate that would improve things in the long run.
These are not new issues; the case for education has been made over and over and over. The implications are clear. For individuals, the more education you get, the more money you make over your working life. Unemployment is less likely and more rewarding careers are more probable. As a society, the more educated the population is, the more attractive the state is as a location for business activity and the greater the enhancement to overall quality of life.
In spite of all of the great things going on in our state, this mid-decade checkup reveals that we still have a lot of work to do in order to ensure future prosperity.