Wednesday,
September 26
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
U.S. Census Bureau says families of Italian
descent enjoy the highest household income of any of
It's
2006 American Community Survey, profiles the six largest European ethnic groups
in the eight-county
TheSurvey leaves out some high-flying immigrant groups,
like Asian Indians
and all Asian Americans,
whose demographics would compare very favorably, since. Statewide, 60 percent
of Asian adults hold a college degree. The Jewish community is considered religious,
rather than ethnic for this Survey.
Cleveland
Plain Dealer
Robert
L. Smith
September
26, 2007
Italian Americans
in
Now they have
something more to feel good about. The U.S. Census Bureau says local families
of Italian descent enjoy the highest household income of any of the region's
major ethnic groups.
Not that their
European peers lag far behind. Locals who identify themselves as German,
Polish, Irish, Hungarian, and Slovak American tend to be richer and better
educated than the general population, and more likely to work as managers and
professionals, even as they retain elements of old world culture. Seven percent
of Hungarians speak a second language.
The ethnic
snapshot comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which today released results from
its 2006 American Community Survey. The report profiles cities and communities
larger than 65,000 people, a threshold that includes the six largest European
ethnic groups in
That leaves out
some high-flying immigrant groups, like Asian Indians and all Asian Americans,
whose demographics would compare favorably. Statewide, 60 percent of Asian
adults hold a college degree.
Still,
The
675,000 people in the eight-county region who claim German heritage, comprising
Of people
claiming Slovak descent, 84 percent own their own home. Only
3 percent report being poor.
Whatever
trepidation their ancestors felt coming to America, most Italian Americans
locally can say that they made it, and how. They are more likely than most to
be married, employed, have a college degree, and to own their home.
"It doesn't
surprise me," said Basil Russo, a Little Italy resident and the national
vice president of the Order of Italian Sons and Daughters of America, one of
the nation's largest fraternal associations. "Italians come from a culture
that stresses family, work and the Catholic church.
That helps to explain our lower divorce rate, and why we are so successful in
Time, and the
misfortune of others, also boosted the fortunes of the European ethnic groups,
said John Grabowski, an historian specializing in
"They were dominate groups and they've been here for generations,"
Grabowski said. "The chances for upward mobility accelerate as your roots
deepen."
Meanwhile,
poverty among blacks and Latinos pulls down the regional averages, making the
successful shine brighter, he said.
Regionally, about
27 percent of African Americans and Hispanics live in poverty, the census
bureau found. The black median household income, $27,639, is the lowest of any
race or ethnic group. So is the percentage of black adults who have never
married, nearly 47 percent.
The census bureau
also took a national look at people living in group quarters, like prisons,
college dorms and nursing homes. It found that the prison population about
doubled between 1990 and 2006, to 2.1 million people, 90 percent of them men,
46 percent of them white, 41 percent black and 19 percent Hispanic.
In contrast, the
population of the nation's nursing homes is 70 percent female and
overwhelmingly white.
The
ANNOTICO Reports Can be Viewed (and are Archived) on:
Italia
Italia
Mia: http://www.ItaliaMia.com (3 years)
Annotico Email: annotico@earthlink.net