Personal income grew by 4.1% across the nation in 2015. The vast majority of metropolitan areas contributed to this growth, but in 10 urban regions, incomes declined. Personal income, which tracks all income received…
As a result of the Great Recession, unemployment in the United States peaked at 10.0% in October 2009. Though the overall unemployment rate has improved significantly since then, falling by more than half, recession-level…
The U.S. Census recommends Americans spend no more than 30% of their income on housing costs per month. Still, an estimated 19 million U.S. households spend over 50% of their income on housing. As…
As it stands, the nationwide violent crime rate today is about half what it was in 1993. While the United States is a much more peaceful place than it has been in decades, millions…
Family names like Smith, Johnson, Williams, and Brown have been among the most popular in the United States for decades. While such names will not likely disappear anytime soon, changing birthrates and immigration patterns…
Beer has been a popular drink choice in the United States since before the American Revolution. Even during Prohibition, many major breweries found ways to stay open, and some states refused to adopt any…
Is your state a drag on the American economy or a boon? The 50 states — as diverse as they are — each contribute something to the U.S. economy. Because of their diversity, state…
About 18.2% of the U.S. adult population smokes, down from over 40% half a century ago. Despite the dramatic decline, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Each year,…
Smoking, drinking alcohol, and gambling are all — when done in excess — widely recognized as bad for your health. Yet millions of people enjoy such vices on a daily basis in the United…
Lyme disease is a debilitating, sometimes fatal infection passed to humans by infected blacklegged ticks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 30,000 cases of the disease each…
The share of poor families who receive welfare in the United States through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) has fallen dramatically in the last 20 years. Today, most poor families do…
The subject of two constitutional amendments and the pillar of a major U.S. industry, alcohol is inextricably tied to America’s political and commercial history. On an individual level, alcohol is a social lubricant known…
After more than two decades of steady decline, violent crime in the U.S. may be on the rise once again. There were an estimated 15,696 murders in the United States in 2015, up over 10%…
In recent years, income inequality has taken a much more central role in the national discourse, and an increasingly-politicized one at that. While there are several potential explanations for this change, the clearest is…
Due in large part to the subprime mortgage crisis that lasted from 2007 to 2010, the U.S. housing market has undergone unprecedented change in the last 10 years. As the housing bubble burst, the…
Average life expectancy for Americans can vary by as much as 15 years, depending on where one is born. While the average person born in Montgomery County, Maryland is expected to live for 83.3…
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for all of Europe for May 1 to September 1, 2017. The alert is intended to keep Americans traveling to the continent alert and aware of…
The U.S. economy is constantly evolving. So, too, is the U.S. job market. Some occupations that were once high paying and relatively stable are now fading from the economic landscape, while others jobs that…
The United States Department of Commerce imposed on Monday a 20% import tax on softwood lumber from Canada. The measure is the latest indication of mounting economic tensions between the U.S. and its northern…
People of nearly every nationality travel to destinations abroad each year. Where they go, how long they can stay, and how their income earned abroad is taxed varies considerably, depending on the country that…
