Americans’ incomes are falling, they’re getting older, and they’re decamping to states like Florida, Idaho and South Carolina.
Why it matters: The ACS is one of the best resources available for a regularly published quantified look at myriad facets of American life, down to a remarkably local level.
By the numbers: Some key findings include…
Change in estimated population, 2021–2022
The bright side: An aging population is a sign of advancements in health care, and is especially noteworthy given the COVID-19 pandemic’s outsized mortality rate for elderly Americans.
Zoom in: Diving into the state-level data underlines a key truth about American life: Where you live matters a great deal for your particular experience.
Be smart: The pandemic “changed the geography of where money is made in the United States,” Axios Macro’s Neil Irwin reports, as many higher-income Americans left cities like New York and San Francisco.
Of note: Because this release is based on 2022 data, it’s capturing what some call the “late pandemic era,” when many elements of normality returned but the pandemic still loomed in the background, affecting many aspects of life.
What we’re watching: Whether — and how much of — 2022’s population change data was a pandemic-era blip.
The bottom line: What’s out from the Census Bureau today is a fascinating trove that Axios will be exploring in greater depth over the coming weeks and months.
