Dougherty, Lee survey numbers show frequent national, state comparison disparity

Editor’s Note: First in a series.

LEESBURG – With all the hype and public service advertising during the past year, most people are aware that 2020 was a census year. However, not everyone is aware that some homes also received the American Community Survey in addition to the 2020 Census.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released the 2019 American Community Survey results. This survey was first conducted in 2005 and was designed with the goal of providing timely and relevant data from the U.S. population. Three surveys are now complete, with the first averaging data collected from 2005 through 2009, a second survey averaged data from 2010 through 2014. This year’s survey averages data collected between 2015 through 2019.

The ACS provides a detailed insight into employment, education, population demographics, income and other variables. Breaking this data down by county highlights information and trends, allowing elected and appointed officials, community leaders, and businesses to visualize a multitude of changes taking place in their communities. It also serves as a method to allocate more than $675 billion in federal funding. The data it provides not only allow counties to identify trends in their communities, it is now considered to be the premier source of information in the United States. It is available online at www.census.gov/acs.

It is only natural when presented with this type of focused data to make comparisons between national, state and county statistics. However, when doing so, it is important to keep one thing in mind: Although the data being presented are facts, the interpretation of the data is an opinion. That being said, there are some interesting comparisons that can be made between the national, state and county data.

Demographic data show a wide, sharp contrast in racial statistics. The total populations of the nation and Lee County are approximately 75% white, with blacks accounting for 14% and 21%, respectively. Where Dougherty County inversely is 27.6% white with blacks comprising 70.6% of the total population. Georgia is 60.7% white with 33% of the population black.

At the same time, 18% of the national population is Hispanic. However, the Hispanic population in Georgia is almost half of that, at 9.5%, while the same populations in Lee and Dougherty counties are 3.0% and 2.9%, respectively.

When looking at household data, there are a number of items that stand out. Married couples make up 48.2% of the population nationally, compared to 47.5 % in Georgia, with 59% in Lee and 31.1% in Dougherty. The percentage of cohabitating couples is fairly consistent with a national average of 6.3%, compared to a state average of 5.3% and Lee and Dougherty having 4.4% and 5.8%, respectively. One interesting statistic in this category focuses on female householders, comprising 27.7% of the national population, 30.1% of Georgia’s population and 24% of Lee county’s population. The percentage is 44.0% in Dougherty County.

Another interesting category of the study shows that 38.4% of grandparents are responsible for grandchildren nationally, with 34.1% being responsible in Georgia. However, in Lee and Dougherty counties, 61% of grandparents are responsible for their grandchildren.

Interestingly, when a broad array of data related to education was presented, including those with less than a ninth-grade education, a high school education, some college, as well as a comparison of those with undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees, there were no glaring differences other than in two categories. Those completing grades 9-12 with no diploma make up 6.9% and 8,2% of the population for the nation and state, respectively. In Dougherty County, 11.7% of the population falls into this category. The only other category with more than a 3% variation comes in the data related to bachelor degrees. The nation and state data indicate that 19% of the population has these degrees, compared with Lee and Dougherty counties having 15.3% and 11.9%, respectively. In all other categories, including high school graduation, some college, associate’s degrees, and graduate degrees, variations are only about 3% across the board.

The availability of computers and broadband internet service have become even more important in the era of COVID-19, with many studying and working from their homes. ACS data show that 82.7% and 81.3% of the nation and state, respectively, have access to broadband internet. Whereas 84% of those in Lee County and 73.4% in Dougherty County have access. At the same time, 90% of the population in the nation and Georgia have computers, as compared to 92.5% for Lee County and 84.3% for Dougherty County residents.

The availability of health care has been a topic of debate for more than a decade. The ACS data show 91.2% of the population has health insurance, with 86% of Georgians covered. This compares to 90% of the population of Lee and 83.5% of the population of Dougherty having health insurance. Of these, 63% of the nation and 66% of Georgians have private health insurance, compared to 73% in Lee and 51% in Dougherty.

The average household income for the nation is $88,607 and $82,406 for Georgians. For those living in Lee County, the average is $82,953, compared to an average of $54,662 for Dougherty County residents.

However, a comparison of poverty levels shows a far greater disparity. Nationally, 18% of the total population lives below the poverty level, as do 21.5% of Georgians. In Lee county 12.8% live below this level, compared to 28.4% in Dougherty county.

The data relating to unemployment also show a great deal of disparity, with 5.3% of the nation’s population being unemployed compared to 3.5% of Georgians. A far greater difference exists between Lee and Dougherty county residents, with unemployment rates of 6.7% and 13.2%, respectively.

This is just a broad sample of the data available during a given point in time in the survey for study and comparison. A little more work with the study, and a comparison of the same data over the two decades of data, should be possible in the near future.

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