,% . 331 '. 1 1 •'•"Co U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. Social and Economic Statistics Administration. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS NO. 14 IN A SERIES OF REPORTS FROM THE 1970 CENSUS <*> t !D c .01 o.o I °0° low IPC" THE YOUTH OF AMERICA I p • We are the youth of America. Neither adults nor children, we are those who are 14 to 24 years of age. Being young, we are filled with dreams of adult life in the 21st century. We are numerous. One person in five— 42.4 million Americans— belongs to youth. We have been making a comeback. Early in the present century we made up as large a proportion of the population as we do now. Part of our preeminence then was due to the younger age of the population— people did not live as long in 1910 as they now do. After 1910, though, we declined as a proportion of the total population. By 1950, we were only 16 percent (about one person in six) and, in 1960, we were 15 percent of the total. These low proportions were due to low birth rates during the Depression of the 1930's and the early war years. By 1970, however, the great numbers of post-World War II babies had started to grow/fp^>^ ->Wf and now we are again more than 20 percent of the populatii 0, % %: w AUG 02 1973 -o, &TS COV^ tf ^, JS A Majority And Minorities The number of us who are white is estimated to be 36.6 million. The estimate for blacks and other racial minorities was 5.8 million in 1972. The 1970 census provided a more exact measure of other racial and ethnic groups among us. It showed that there were 1.8 million Spanish heritage young Americans between 15 and 24 years of age. Totals for other groups in this 15-24 year age bracket were: A merican Indian . . 14 8,000 Japanese 96,000 Chinese 90,000 Filipino 56,000 Hawaiian 21,000 Korean 16,000 Sexes Are Equal Numerical equality of the sexes is closer to reality in youth than at any other time of life. Adult women outnumber men by a widening margin as they grow older. In childhood, boys out- number girls. In youth, the popula- tion balance between the sexes is almost even. In 1970, for example, the census showed that there were 19.6 million men and boys among youth and 19.9 million women and girls. The count by single years of age was as follows: AGE MALE FEMALE 14 years 2.1 million 2.0 million 15 years 2.1 million 1.9 million 1 6 years 2.0 million 1.9 million 17 years 1.9 million 1.9 million 18 years 1.9 million 1.9 million 19 years 1.8 million 1.8 million 20 years 1.7 million 1.8 million 21 years 1.6 million 1.7 million 22 years 1.6 million 1 8 million 23 years 1.6 million 1.8 million 24 years 1.3 million 1.4 million The 1972 estimate of 42.4 million youth was higher than the 1970 census total of 39.5 million Americans 14 to 24. Population growth accounts for the difference between these figures. In fact, the increase in the youth total has been much greater than for the population as a whole during the 1960's and early 1970's. We young Americans increased in number by 56 percent during 1960-72, while the U.S. population went up by only about 16 percent. Divided Three Ways Youth can be divided into three parts. There are the high schoolers (14 to 17 years of age); those in the early college years (18 and 19 year olds); and those in the early working years (20 to 24 year olds). Not everyone fits these categories, but it is useful to group us young Americans this way, so that we can be measured according to what we're doing— in school, working, or whatever— during these years of rapid change. The Census Bureau estimates that the high schoolers totaled about 16.4 million in 1972. The early-college-years group numbered 7.5 million. And the early careerists numbered 17.1 million. Of the high schoolers, more than 93 percent in 1972 were enrolled in school, most of them in high school. In 1960, about 90 percent of the high school age group were enrolled. The proportions were 83 percent in 1950 and 79 percent in 1940. About 46 percent of the early-college-years group were actually enrolled in school in 1972, the bulk of these in college. Back in 1960, only 38 percent were enrolled. The proportions were 30 percent in 1950 and 29 percent in 1940. One in five of the 20- to 24-year group was enrolled in school in 1972. Back in 1940, barely 7 percent of young Americans 20 to 24 years were still enrolled in school. Overall, the proportion of all of us young Americans enrolled in school or college in 1972 was 55 percent. This included 6.6 million in college and 15.9 million in high school or elementary school. There is no doubt that more of us young Americans are in school than has been the case in past years. This is particularly true of persons 20 to 24 years. As recently as 1950, only 8 percent of civilian youth— 1.9 million young men and women— were enrolled in college, compared to the 6.6 million (16 percent of civilian youth) estimated to be in college in 1972. Those Not In School We have seen that 55 percent of us were enrolled in school in 1972. What of the others? How much education are they taking with them into the adult world? A Census Bureau survey taken in 1971 provides answers. It showed that 1.3 million of those 14 to 24 years old that year had finished 4 years of college; 2.4 million had had 1 to 3 years of college; and almost 9 million had finished high school. Only 4.8 million had left either high school or elementary school without completing their training through high school. 1 In 5 Has A Vocational Skill College is not the only key to our futures. One in five young Ameri- cans has already completed some kind of vocational training. The 1970 census showed that 5.4 mil- lion young men and women 18 to 24 years old had such training. Business and office training was the most popular kind for young women, and trade and craft skills among the young men. Included among those with voca- tional training were 314,000 young black men and 348,000 young black women, as well as 107,000 young men of Spanish heritage and 119,000 young women of Spanish heritage. The following table shows the num- bers of young persons who have had various types of vocational training: VOCATIONAL TRAINING 1970 TRAINING MEN 18-24 WOMEN 18-24 Business- Office 300,000 1,100,000 Nursing- Health 63,000 432,000 Trades 1,100,000 384,000 Engineering 277,000 19,000 Agriculture Home Economics 83,000 46,000 Other 153,000 93,000 How Many of Us Work? We young Americans are also an industrious group. Many are work- ing, some are both working and going to school, some are in the Armed Forces, and some (many of them young married women keep- ing house) are not in the labor force. The figures for young Americans in the labor force cover only those 16 to 24 years (most 14- and 15-year- olds are in school, in any case). The totals for those not in school in 1972 were as follows: THOSE NOT IN SCHOOL Employed 1 1 .3 million Unemployed 1.4 million In Armed Forces 1 .7 million Not in labor force (including young married women) 4.6 million All Kinds of Jobs KINDS OF JOBS MEN WOMEN Clerical 877,000 3.1 Million Service Workers Except Private Household 1.1 Million 1.2 Million Operatives 1.5 Million 665,000 Professional, Technical and Kindred Workers 841,000 859,000 Sales Work 687,000 513,000 Craftsmen or Foremen 1.2 Million 100,000 American youth takes on all kinds of jobs. But we are most likely to be found working in a clerical role. When the 1970 census was taken nearly 4 million of us were holding clerical jobs. Of this total 3.1 million were young women and 877,000 young men. > The next table shows leading occu- pations for black youth and for Spanish heritage youth: LEADING OCCUPATIONS FOR BLACK YOUTH MEN, 14 to 24 Operatives, except transport . . 168,000 Laborers, except farm 132,000 Service workers, except household 131,000 WOMEN, 14 to 24 Clerical jobs 272,000 Service workers, except household 139,000 Operatives, except transport 112,000 LEADING OCCUPATIONS FOR SPANISH HERITAGE YOUTH MEN, 14 to 24 Operatives, except transport . . 88,000 Service workers, except household 58,000 Laborers, except farm 58,000 WOMEN, 14 to 24 Clerical workers 128,000 Service workers, except household 52,000 Operatives, except transport 48,000 Where Are The Young? A total of 29.7 million of us lived in urban areas, and 9.8 million in rural areas in 1970. There were 12.6 million in the South, which was 20 percent of the region's population. The South includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, in addi- tion to the States of the Old South. The following tables show in detail the way we young Americans are divided by urban and rural residence and by region. YOUTH POPULATION BY REGIONS. SAl^ NORTHEAST 8.9 million 18% o 1970 POPULATION RESIDENCE URBAN 29.7 million Central cities 12.8 million Urban fringe 10.3 million Other places of 10,000 or more 3.8 million Places of 2,500 to 10,000 2.8 million RURAL 9.8 million Places of 1,000 to 2,500 1.2 million Open country 8.6 million More Youth In Some States ^f v&<, H# Although we are generally distri- buted among the States the way the population as a whole is, there are States with somewhat higher pro- portions of youth than others. For example, among States with high proportions of youth are Alaska (22.8 percent), Utah (22.6 per- cent), and South Carolina (22.2 percent). States with low propor- tions of people in the 14-to-24-year bracket include New Jersey (17.6 percent) and Florida (17.7 per- cent). The following table shows the youth population by States: YOUTH IN EACH STATE 1970 Population Total ^ercentagn 14-24 years Population 14 24 years United States 39,500.000 203,200.000 19.5 Alabama 691 ,000 3,400,000 20.1 Alaska 69,000 300,000 22.8 Arizona 355,000 1,800,000 20.1 Arkansas 365,000 1,900,000 19.0 California 3,900,000 20,000,000 19.8 Colorado 468,000 2,200,000 21.2 Connecticut 553,000 3,000,000 18.3 Delaware 107,000 548,000 19.4 Dist. of Columbia 158,000 757,000 20.9 Florida 1 ,200,000 6,789,000 17.7 Georgia 955,000 4,590,000 20.8 Hawaii 169,000 769,000 22.0 Idaho 144,000 713,000 20.1 Illinois 2.100,000 11,100,000 18.7 Indiana 1,000,000 5,200,000 19.7 Iowa 535,000 2,800,000 19.0 Kansas 451,000 2,200,000 20.1 Kentucky 650,000 3,200,000 20.2 Louisiana 756,000 3,600,000 20.8 Maine 188,000 992,000 19.0 Maryland 761,000 3,900,000 19.4 Massachusetts 1,100,000 5,700,000 19.1 Michigan 1,800,000 8,900,000 19.9 Minnesota 746,000 3,800,000 19.6 Mississippi 457,000 2,200,000 20.6 Missouri 877,000 4,700,000 18.8 Montana 137,000 694,000 19.8 Nebraska 288,000 1,500,000 19.4 Nevada 89,000 489,000 18.2 New Hampshire 140,000 738,000 19.0 New Jersey 1 ,300,000 7,168,000 17.6 New Mexico 212,000 1,000,000 20.8 New York 3,300,000 18,200,000 18.0 North Carolina 1,100,000 5,100,000 21.4 North Dakota 128,000 618,000 20.7 Ohio 2,100,000 10,700,000 19.4 Oklahoma 500,000 2,600,000 19.5 Oregon 409,000 2,100,000 19.5 Pennsylvania 2,159.000 1 1 ,800,000 18.3 Rhode Island 191,000 947,000 20.2 South Carolina 576,000 2,600,000 22.2 South Dakota 1 34,000 666,000 20.1 Tennessee 779,000 3,900.000 19.8 Texas 2,300,000 11,200,000 20.4 Utah 239,000 1,100,000 22.6 Vermont 89,000 444,000 20.1 Virginia 974,000 4,600,000 21.0 Washington 695,000 3,400,000 20.4 West Virginia 337,000 1,700,000 19.3 Wisconsin 863,000 4,400.000 19.5 Wyoming 65,000 332.000 19 7 11 118111 v% - ^ * . *o f |i=s A jl | imiii On The Move We're movers. In fact, those of us 20 to 24 years old are more likely than any other group in the population to be mobile. For example, in the year ending March 1971 , about 44 percent of all Americans 22 to 24 years old changed residence. Nearly 37 percent of those 20 to 21 years also moved. The rate for young people 14 to 17, most of whom live with their parents and attend high school, was considerably lower: about 12 percent. In the 1970 census, it was found that fewer than 4 million of the 16.1 million people 20 to 24 years old had lived in the same house 5 years earlier. The total who had lived in a different house in the United States was nearly 10.5 million. Another 1.3 million reported having moved between 1965 and 1970 but didn't report what their 1965 residence had been. Another 361,000 said they had been abroad 5 years before the census. How Many Are Married? Popular magazine writers used to say a lot about teen-age marriage. Now, they are more likely to write about the lack of it. Census figures show the origin of this new interest in our seeming hesitant attitude about marriage. In 1972, about 68 percent of all men 18 to 24 years were single. Back in 1960, however, being single was less popular. The proportion of single men 18 to 24 years then was only 65 percent. As for young women, in 1972, 48 percent of those 18 to 24 years were single, but back in 1960 only 41 percent were single. The 1970 census shows the number of us married and single. The figures illustrate, also, to what an extent the ages from 20 to 24 years are the marrying years, compared with the late teens when only a comparative few walk to the altar. The table on opposite page shows total married by ages in 1970. 12 Nearly 400,000 Divorced Nearly 400,000 of the young Ameri- cans counted in 1970 had already been divorced— 246,000 of them women and the remainder men. Ten years earlier in the 1960 census, the total of divorced persons 14 to 24 years was 182,000, 1 23,000 of them women. Our Voting Record Our voting record shows that we don't take part in elections as fully as older people. In the 1972 election, about half of those 18 to 24 years said they cast ballots. The totals were 5.3 million of the 11.0 million 18 to 20 year olds and 6.9 million of the 1 3.6 million 20 to 24 year olds. For older persons, the figure was 73.6 million, 66 percent of those 25 years and over. Black youth is even less likely to vote than white youth. The 1972 figures, by race, show that only 31 percent of blacks 18 to 20 said they took part in the election, along with 38 percent of young blacks 20 to 24. For whites, the record was 51 percent of the 18 to 20 year olds and 53 percent of those 20 to 24 years. United States 1970 total Married | Males 14 to 19 years 1 1.9 million 402,000 Males 20 to 24 years 7.8 million 3.3 million Females 14 to 19 years 1 1.5 million 1.1 million Females 20 to 24 years 8.4 million 5.1 million BLACKS Males 14 to 19 years 1.5 million 55,000 Males 20 to 24 years 808,000 326,000 Females 14 to 19 years 1 .5 million 137,000 Females 20 to 24 years 956,000 504,000 SPANISH HERITAGE TOTAL Males 14 to 19 years 578,000 29,000 MARRIED Males 20 to 24 years 363,000 177,000 Females 14 to 19 years 574,000 71,000 BY AGES Females 20 to 24 years 410,000 259,000 13 Big Percentage Have Income We're income producers. Nearly all young men (94 percent) 20-24 years old received income in 1971 , and 76 percent of the young women in that age bracket did. A large proportion of teen-agers got income, too. The proportions were 58 percent of the boys and 48 percent of the girls, 14 to 19 years old. Incomes of the younger group were largely less than $1 ,000, however; the median income for 14- to 19-year old boys was $685 and for girls it was $491 . Youth 20 to 24 received considerably more income. The median for men in this age group was $4,132; for women it was $2,623. Twenty-two percent of young men 20 to 24 and more than 7 percent of the young women had 1971 incomes of $7,000 or more. And Some of Us Are Poor About 4 million or 13 percent of American youth were in families with in- comes below the low-income level (which was $4,100 for four-person non- farm families in 1971 ). Of the total, 2.7 million were white and 1 .3 million were black. Poor young whites are more likely to live in families headed by a man (53 percent were in this category) and poor young blacks are likely to be found in families headed by a woman (52 percent). In addition, the young whites below the low-income line are found more often living with non-relatives (20 percent in all) than young blacks below the low-income line, only 6 percent of whom were with non-relatives. 14 Will Youth Continue To Dominate? Much has been written in very recent times of our youth-domin- ated society. It's not difficult to understand why we young Amer- icans have stamped our mark on today. We made a numerical come- back after a comparatively low pro- file in the 1940's and 1950's. Everyone had to cope with the stresses of a rising population of young people. New schools and institutions had to be built to train us. New ideas for forming our minds were tried. We were more visible everywhere, and we influ- enced contemporary style in clothes, popular literature, enter- tainment, food, and home design to a remarkable degree. Statistics hint at the Nation's pre- occupation with young America- one in five belongs to youth, edu- cational attainment going up, income an important fraction of the whole income spectrum, 44 percent on the move in 1 year, older at first marriage, and so on. Perhaps, though, the recent stress on youth is lifting. Declining birth rates since the late 1960's suggest a somewhat different future for youth. Not better. Not worse. Different, along with the good that always comes with being 14 to 24 years of age. 15 PEf J N p TA yE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ADoaa7gflL jD137 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Frederick B. Dent, Secretary SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STATISTICS ADMINISTRATION Edward D. Failor, Administrator BUREAU OF THE CENSUS Vincent P. Barabba, Acting Director Robert L. Hagan, Deputy Director PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE John J. Casserly, Chief This report was prepared in the Public Information Office, Bureau of the Census, as an aid to education. JUNE, 1973 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C 20402. Price 40 cents Domestic Postpaid or 30 cents G. P.O. Bookstore Stock Number 0324-00043.