A lot has changed in the last 100 years.
At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the U.S. population was male, under 23 years old, lived outside metropolitan areas and rented their homes. Nearly half lived in a household with five or more other persons.
Fast forward 10 decades and most of the population was female, at least 35 years old, lived in metro areas and owned their homes. Most lived alone or in a household with one or two other people.
These are some of the changes included in a special Census Bureau report that analyzes data gathered in 11 censuses stretching from 1900 to 2000 and tracks trends in population, housing and household data for the nation, regions and states.
Here are some highlights:
The U.S. population grew by more than 205 million people during the century, more than tripling from 76 million in 1900 to 281 million in 2000.
As the population grew, the geographical population center shifted 324 miles west and101 miles south, from Bartholomew County, Ind., in 1900 to its current location in Phelps County, Mo.
In every decade of the century, the West's population grew faster than the populations of the other three regions.
Florida's population rank rose more than that of any other state, catapulting it from 33rd to 4th place in state rankings. Iowa's population ranking plummeted the furthest, from10th in the nation in 1900 to 30th in 2000.
In 1950, for the first time, more than half of all occupied housing units were owned instead of rented. The home ownership rate increased until 1980, decreased slightly in the1980s and then rose again to its highest level of the century in 2000 66 percent.
The 1930s was the only decade when the proportion of owner-occupied housing units declined in every region. The largest increase in ownership rates for each region then occurred in the next decade when the economy recovered from the Depression and experienced post-World War II prosperity.
Between 1950 and 2000, married-couple households declined from more than three-fourths of all households to just over one-half.
The proportional share of one-person households increased more than households of any other size. In 1950, one-person households represented 1-in-10 households; by 2000, they comprised 1-in-4.
Children under 5 years old represented the largest five-year age group in 1900 and again in 1950. By 2000, the largest groups were 35 to 39 and 40 to 44.
The percentage of the population age 65 and over increased in every census from 1900 (4.1 percent) to 1990 (12.6 percent), then declined for the first time in Census 2000 to 12.4 percent.
From 1900 to 1960, the South had the highest proportion of children under 15 and the lowest proportion of people 65 and over, making it the country's "youngest" region. The West grabbed that title in the latter part of the century.
At the beginning of the century, 1-in-8 U.S. residents was of a race other than white; at the end of the century, the ratio was 1-in-4.
Published: January 2, 2003
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 When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated.
He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year.
Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He
held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972.
The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country.
He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others.
Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven. |
