Structure Numbers

Important Numbers About the Social Structure

Identified and Explained by the Social Structure Class

Centre College, Fall 2007

 

Prof. Beau Weston, presiding

The assignment: Write a series of one-page papers on numbers that you think are important for understanding the social structure.

 

Some Starting Numbers
Population of the earth, in round billions: 6 Population of the U. S. A., in round millions: 300
Population of Kentucky, in round millions: 4

 

Some Structure Numbers Everyone Should Know
Chris Boyer: 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless in the U.S.
Mary Brieschke: 3% of foster kids go on to graduate from college.
Lauren Clontz: 25.9 years old is the median age at which American women in 2006 were married for the first time.
Landon Dean: 1.6 billion adults are projected by the World Health Organization to be overweight.
Sarah Douglas: 27 of 34 teachers in the average Kentucky public school are likely to be white women.
Leah Fattaleh: 3.5 million Americans are likely to experience homelessness in a given year.
Olivia Fitzpatrick: 41% of low-income students entering four-year colleges graduate within five years.
Courtney Gilmore: 26.7% of Americans donated their time and resources in order to help others in their community.
Alex Headley: 30% of the world's waste is generated by Americans, though we represent only five percent of the world’s population.
Brittney Hertog: 2 dollars a day is the World Bank global poverty line.
Erica Horton: 47 million Americans have no health insurance.
Kerri Howard: 57% of the estimated 11,550,000 unauthorized immigrants living in the United States are from Mexico.
Jennifer Jones: $49,303 is the median income in 2005 for people 25 years of age and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher
Nina Marijanovic: 50% increase in the wealth gap in the U.S.A. since 1960.
Lindsay Maurer: 1 million more poor people in the American suburbs than in the cities.
Christopher McCarty: 27.2% of Americans over 25 had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Scott Meltzer: $49,000 was the median annual income for an American white male in 2005.
Jasma Mendez: 46.1 babies were born per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15-44 in the United States in 2004.
Tyler Moody: 380,000 student athletes in American colleges and universities today.
Elijah Mullins: 10% of kids in the poorest fifth of Americans are likely to drop out of school.
Shannon Petree: 7.8 million people in America are considered working poor.
Melissa Raley: 31% was the United States divorce rate in 2002.
Valerie Rissel: Five babies are born in the world every second.
Bess Rives: $477 billion spent in U.S. federal programs to fight poverty.
Tres Russell: 3.31% is the dropout rate in Kentucky today.
Emily Shelley: 36.5 million people living in poverty in the U.S.A. in 2006.
Cole Tomlinson: 82 is the Economic Freedom Index score of the United States in 2007.
Katherine Wakefield: 2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually.
Ted Wright: 21% of Japanese are overthe age of sixty-five.
Chris Zimmerman: 28% of Americans, ages 25 and older, have attained a bachelor’s degree. 
 
A Comparison of Two Important Numbers
 
Chris Boyer: 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless in the U.S including 10% of the 7.6 million released prisoners
Mary Brieschke: 41% of poor kids graduate from college in four years vs. 66% of rich kids
Lauren Clontz: Median income for 25-year-old couples with various academic degrees
Landon Dean: 1.6 billion adults are projected by the World Health Organization to be overweight including 75% of Americans
Sarah Douglas: Unemployment rates for people with various degrees
Leah Fattaleh: The 1999 median income of American women was $27,200 while it was $37,100 for men
Olivia Fitzpatrick: 41% of poor students entering four-year colleges graduate within five years while tuition has gone up 57%
Courtney Gilmore: 26.7% of Americans donated volunteer vs. 44% of Britons
Alex Headley: 90 % of divorced women under 25 remarried vs. fewer than one third of divorced women over the age of 40
Brittney Hertog: 1 dollar a day vs. 2 dollars a day World Bank global poverty lines.
Erica Horton: 47 million Americans without health insurance but only 36.5 million Americans “in poverty”
Kerri Howard: 4.6 million unauthorized vs. 9.2 million authorized Mexican immigrants in the U.S.
Jennifer Jones: $477 billion in U.S. anti-poverty spending vs. 7.8 million ?working poor.?
Nina Marijanovic: Post-genocide unemployment rates in Bosnia and Rwanda
Lindsay Maurer: Mobility of the top and bottom quintiles, 1988 - 98
Christopher McCarty: 27.9% Men and 26.2% of Women in America over 25 have Attained a Bachelor's Degree
Scott Meltzer: Anesthesiologists annual mean salary of $184,340 vs. U.S. Supreme Court justices earn $203,000
Jasma Mendez: Beween 2004 and 2005 the U.S. poverty rate for Whites decreased; the Black rate was unchanged
Tyler Moody: 59% of black athletes graduate from college vs. 82% of white athletes
Elijah Mullins: 91% of Duke athletes graduate vs. 60% of USC athletes
Shannon Petree: Housing problems of the working poor
Melissa Raley: $477 billion spent to fight poverty vs. 31% divorce rate
Valerie Rissel: The Kentucky dropout rate and the poverty rate
Bess Rives: $477 billion in 2006 U.S. federal programs and $9 trillion since 1964
Tres Russell: The 2006 Kentucky graduation rate was 83.26% while the dropout rate was recorded at 3.31%
Emily Shelley: 36.5 million people living in poverty in the U.S.A. in 2006 and 47 million Americans without health insurance
Cole Tomlinson: The Gross Domestic Product per capita of the richest and poorest countries are $87,955 (Luxembourg) and $119 (Burundi)
Katherine Wakefield: The median age of American women at time of first marriage in 2006 was 25.9 years vs. 20.8 in 1970
Ted Wright: China and the U.S. produce 3.19 and 19.81 tons per person of the carbon dioxide, respectively
Chris Zimmerman: 28% of Americans, ages 25 and older, have attained a bachelor’s degree, 65% of whom are in debt for it
 
Number Trends
 
Chris Boyer: Homelessness in the United States
Mary Brieschke: Education is a vital element in getting a job
Lauren Clontz: The Trend in the Median Age of Women at the Time of Their First Marriage
Landon Dean: MRSA
Sarah Douglas: Marriage and Divorce in Kentucky
Leah Fattaleh: Women's Earnings
Olivia Fitzpatrick: Workin’ Nine to Five? I Don’t Think So!
Courtney Gilmore: Volunteering over the Past Thirty Years
Alex Headley: Divorce Trends
Brittney Hertog: Over 80% increase in the number of individuals in extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1981 to 2004
Erica Horton: The Aging American Population
Kerri Howard: Mexican-born percentage of the U.S. population
Jennifer Jones: Age of Women's First Marriage
Nina Marijanovic: Black Graduation Rate
Lindsay Maurer: U.S. Social Mobility
Christopher McCarty: How the Percentage of Bachelor’s Degree Holders in Kentucky Changed Over Time
Scott Meltzer: Our Youth and Voter Apathy
Jasma Mendez: African American Marriage
Tyler Moody: Scholar-Athlete Graduation Rates
Elijah Mullins: The High School Graduation Rate in Kentucky
Shannon Petree: Working Poor Children
Melissa Raley: Trends in Black vs. White Non-marriage Trends
Valerie Rissel: Working at Home
Bess Rives: U.S. Poverty
Tres Russell: Kentucky Dropout Rate
Emily Shelley: Births to Unmarried Women
Cole Tomlinson: Income Gaps Among Nations
Katherine Wakefield: Women's Age of First Marriage
Ted Wright: Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Chris Zimmerman: ACT Scores in the US: Past 13 years