Tue November 14, 2006
Figures paint portrait of population
By Judy Gibbs Robinson
The Oklahoman
Eight out of 10 Hispanics in Oklahoma are of Mexican heritage, and almost one in five of those in the labor force work in construction.
This tidbit comes from population profiles released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, providing the first snapshots since the 2000 Census of about 200 racial, ethnic and national heritage groups at national, state and sometimes county or city levels, depending on population.
The data, compiled from the 2005 American Community Survey, allow quick comparisons between groups on a variety of social, economic and housing characteristics.
Here are some of the Oklahoma highlights:
· Home ownership: Only 41 percent of blacks and 50 percent of Hispanics live in owner-occupied housing compared with 68 percent for all Oklahomans.
· Age. The average age of Oklahoma Hispanics is 25 — 12 years younger than the average Oklahoman.
· Language. Almost 92 percent of Oklahoma Indians speak only English in the home. By comparison, 70 percent of Hispanics speak a language other than English at home.
· Work force. Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of Hispanics age 16 and over are in the labor force, compared with 64 percent for the state as a whole. Blacks in the work force are almost twice as likely as other Oklahomans to be unemployed (9 percent to 4 percent).
· Transportation. Almost twice as many Hispanics (21 percent) carpool to work compared with the whole state (11 percent). Indians are twice as likely as whites to have no vehicle (8 percent to 4 percent).
