Population. All population figures are from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20233, 301-457-3030. Figures for 1970, 1980 and 1990 are final Census Bureau population counts as of April 1 of those years. Figures for 1996 are estimates as of July 1. (The District of Columbia is included as a state in all the following charts.) el6 Voting Age Population. This figure indicates all persons at least 18 years of age who are eligible to vote, including the Armed Forces, aliens and institutional members.

Chart I shows the total U.S. population and total U.S. voting age population for 1996, 1990, 1980 and 1970.

Chart I
Total U.S. Population		Total U.S. Voting Age Population
July 1, 1996 (est.)	265,284,000	July 1, 1996 (est.)	196,511,000
April 1, 1990	248,709,873	April 1, 1990	185,105,441
April 1, 1980	226,545,805	April 1, 1980	163,997,000
April 1, 1970	203,302,031	April 1, 1970	135,290,000

Chart II indicates the range of highest and lowest state population changes in percentage growth and absolute change for 1980-90.

Chart II
1980-90 Population Change
(National Avg.: up 9.8%)
State	Highest			State	Lowest
Nevada	50.1%	401,340		West Virginia	-8.0%	-156,167
Alaska	36.9%	148,192		District of Columbia	-4.9%	-31,433
Arizona	34.8%	947,013		Iowa	-4.7%	-137,053
Florida	32.7%	3,191,602		Wyoming	-3.4%	-15,969
California	25.7%	6,092,119		North Dakota	-2.1%	-13,917

Chart III shows the ten highest and the ten lowest state populations.

Chart III
1996 (Est.) U.S. Population: Ten Highest and Lowest States
State	Highest		State	Lowest
California	31,878,000		Wyoming	481,000
Texas	19,128,000		District of Columbia	543,000
New York	18,185,000		Vermont	589,000
Florida	14,400,000		Alaska	607,000
Pennsylvania	12,056,000		North Dakota	644,000
Illinois	11,847,000		Delaware	725,000
Ohio	11,173,000		South Dakota	732,000
Michigan	9,594,000		Montana	879,000
New Jersey	7,988,000		Rhode Island	990,000
Georgia	7,353,000		New Hampshire	1,162,000

Chart IV lists the states with the highest and lowest median age.

Chart IV
1990 Median Age
(National Avg.: 34.6 years)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
West Virginia	37.7 years		Utah	26.8 years
Florida	37.6 years		Alaska	31.9 years
Pennsylvania	36.9 years		Texas	32.6 years
Maine	36.6 years		California	32.7 years
Montana	36.5 years		Mississippi	32.9 years

Chart V illustrates the states with the highest and lowest average percentages of married-couple family households.

Chart V
1990 Married-Couple Family Households
(National Avg.: 55.9%)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
Utah	64.8%		District of Columbia	25.3%
Idaho	62.2%		New York	49.9%
Wyoming, New Hampshire	59.7%		Nevada	51.4%
Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky	59.2%		Massachusetts	52.1%
North Dakota	59.1%		California	52.7

Chart VI illustrates the states with the highest and lowest average percentages of population over 65 years of age.

Chart VI
1990 Population Over 65 Years of Age
(National Avg.: 12.8%)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
Florida	18.5%		Alaska	5.2%
Pennsylvania	15.9%		Utah	8.8%
Rhode Island	15.8%		Georgia	9.9%
West Virginia, Iowa	15.2%		Colorado	10.1%
North Dakota	14.5%		Texas	10.2%

Chart VII illustrates the states with the highest and lowest average percentages of Owner Occupied Housing.

Chart VII
1990 Owner Occupied Housing
(National Avg.: 65.4%)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
West Virginia	74.1%		District of Columbia	38.9%
Minnesota	71.8%		NewYork	52.2%
Mississippi	71.5%		Hawaii	53.9%
Michigan	71.0%		Nevada	54.8%
Pennsylvania	70.6%		California	55.6

Chart VIII illustrates the states with the highest and lowest median house value.

Chart VIII
1990 Median House Value
(National Avg.: $84,209)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
Hawaii	$245,300		South Dakota	$45,200
California	195,500		Mississippi	45,600
Connecticut	177,800		Iowa	45,900
Massachusetts	162,800		Arkansas	46,300
New Jersey	162,300		West Virginia	47,900

Chart IX illustrates the states with the highest and lowest median monthly rent.

Chart IX
1990 Median Monthly Rent
(National Avg.: $350)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
Hawaii	$599		Mississippi	$215
California	561		West Virginia	221
New Jersey	521		Alabama	229
Connecticut	510		Arkansas	230
Massachusetts	506		South Dakota	242

Chart X shows the states with the highest and lowest per capita income.

Chart X
1990 Per Capita Income(National Avg.: $18,685)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
Connecticut	$25,358		Mississippi	$12,735
New Jersey	24,968		West Virginia	13,747
District of Columbia	23,491		Utah	14,083
Massachusetts	22,642		Arkansas	14,218
New York	21,975		New Mexico	14,228
Maryland	21,864		Louisiana	14,391
Alaska	21,761		Alabama	14,826
California	20,795		Kentucky	14,929
New Hampshire	20,789		South Carolina	15,099
Illinois	20,303		Montana	15,110

Chart XI shows the states with the highest and lowest average unemployment rates for 1996. These figures are from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and were compiled independently of the Census Bureau figures.

Chart XI
1996 Average Unemployment Rate
(National Avg: 5.4%)
State	Highest		State	Lowest
District of Columbia	8.5%		Nebraska	2.9%
New Mexico	8.1%		North Dakota	3.1%
Alaska	7.8%		South Dakota	3.2%
West Virginia	7.5		Utah	3.5%
California	7.2%		Wisconsin	3.5%
Louisiana	6.7%		Iowa	3.8%
Washington	6.5%		Minnesota	4.0%
Hawaii	6.4%		Indiana	4.1%
New York	6.2%		Oklahoma	4.1%
New Jersey	6.2%		Colorado	4.2%

Ethnic Breakdown. The racial and ethnic breakdowns illustrate the potential ethnic vote as opposed to the overall population. The concepts of race and ethnicity as defined by the Census Bureau reflect self-identification and not clear-cut biological definitions.

Chart XII lists voting age and total state population figures for the fourteen states with black populations above the national average of 12.1% in 1990. Black ethnic classification refers to those persons who indicated their race as Black on the Census questionnaire.

Chart XII
1990 Black Population: Total State Population
State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.		State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.
District of Columbia	62.4%	65.8%		North Carolina	20.1%	22.0%
Mississippi	31.6%	35.6%		Virginia	17.6%	18.8%
Louisiana	27.9%	30.8%		Delaware	15.3%	16.9%
South Carolina	26.9%	29.8%		Tennessee	14.4%	16.0%
Georgia	24.6%	27.0%		New York	14.7%	15.9%
Alabama	22.7%	25.3%		Arkansas	13.7%	15.9%
Maryland	23.5%	24.9%		Illinois	13.4%	14.8%

Chart XIII illustrates the voting age and total population figures for the fourteen states with American Indian concentrations above the national average of 0.8% in 1990. The American Indian classification includes persons who classified themselves as American Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut.

Chart XIII
1990 American Indian: Total State and Voting Age Population
State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.		State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.
Alaska	13.5%	15.6%		Wyoming	1.8%	2.1%
New Mexico	7.5%	8.9%		Washington	1.4%	1.7%
Oklahoma	6.9%	8.0%		Nevada	1.5%	1.6%
South Dakota	5.4%	7.3%		Utah	1.2%	1.4%
Montana	4.8%	6.0%		Oregon	1.2%	1.4%
Arizona	4.4%	5.6%		Idaho	1.2%	1.4%
North Dakota	3.1%	4.1%		North Carolina	1.1%	1.2%

Chart XIV illustrates the voting age and total state population figures for the eight states with Asian concentrations at or above the national average of 2.9% in 1990. The Asian classification includes persons who classified themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander.

Chart XIV
1990 Asian Origin: Total State and Voting Age Population
State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.		State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.
Hawaii	61.3%	61.8%		Alaska	3.6%	3.6%
California	9.2%	9.6%		New Jersey	3.2%	3.5%
Washington	4.1%	4.3%		Nevada	3.1%	3.2%
New York	3.8%	3.9%		Maryland	2.8%	2.9%

Chart XV illustrates voting age and total state population figures for the eight states with Hispanic origin concentrations above the national average of 9.0% in 1990. The Hispanic origin classification includes three specific categories -- Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban -- as well as those who indicated that they were of other Spanish or Hispanic origin (origin can be viewed as ancestry, nationality group, lineage or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors prior to their arrival in the United States). Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Chart XV
1990 Hispanic Origin: Total State and Voting Age Population
State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.		State	% of voting age pop.	% of total state pop.
New Mexico	33.0%	38.2%		Colorado	11.2%	12.9%
California	22.5%	25.8%		New York	11.2%	12.3%
Texas	22.4%	25.5%		Florida	11.7%	12.2%
Arizona	15.8%	18.8%		Nevada	9.1%	10.4%

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