State-by-State Costs of Child Poverty in the U.S.
Research has shown that growing up in poverty leads to negative health, social, and economic consequences for children that often continue in adulthood. Compared with other children, children living below the poverty line are less healthy, have lower educational achievement, and are more likely to become involved with the criminal justice system. As adults, they are less likely to attend college or hold a steady job. In 2006, an estimated 13.3 million U.S. children were living in poverty, and at risk for such lifelong problems. (May 2008)

U.S. Baby Boomers Moving Out, Minorities Moving In
Baby boomers, many on the cusp of retirement, are moving out of densely populated states in favor of less populated areas, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Since 2000, the oldest baby boomers—those closest to retirement age—have moved into several fast-growing states, including Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Idaho. (May 2008)

Immigration Gives Catholicism a Boost in the United States
With 62 million adherents, Catholics remain the single largest religious group in the United States. Long-term trends from the General Social Survey, from 1972 through 2006, point to a decline in Protestant religions but show remarkable stability in the proportion of Catholics in the population. New immigrants arriving in the United States—many Catholics from Latin America—have helped offset the decline in religious affiliation among the U.S.-born population in most states. (April 2008)

Population Losses Mount in U.S. Rural Areas
Despite rapid population growth in parts of the U.S. South and West, 43 percent of all counties lost population since 2000—nearly twice the number of counties that lost population during the 1990s (1,346 counties vs. 689 counties). The data, based on the U.S. Census Bureau's newly released 2007 population estimates, reveal a wide demographic divide between fast- and slow-growing areas. (March 2008)

PopWire: Preschoolers With Working Moms Rely on Grandparent's Care
There were nearly 11.3 million children younger than 5 whose mothers were employed in 2005. Of those, nearly one-third counted on regular care by a grandparent during their mother's working hours (30 percent), according to tables recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. (March 2008)

Managing Migration: The Global Challenge

 The number of international migrants is at an all-time high. There were 191 million migrants in 2005, which means that 3 percent of the world's people left their country of birth or citizenship for a year or more. The number of international migrants in industrialized countries more than doubled between 1985 and 2005, from almost 55 million to 120 million. This Population Bulletin, written by Philip Martin and Gottfried Zürcher, reviews the migration streams of the last several decades, globally and by world region. (BUL63.1; March 2008)

Race, Ethnicity, and Where You Live Matters: Recent Findings on Health and Mortality of U.S. Elderly
Over the past 50 years, remarkable improvements in health care and higher incomes have benefited older Americans from all racial and ethnic groups. But significant gaps persist and have even widened among some groups. Americans who are 65 years old today can expect to live another 18.4 years on average, approximately four more years than 65-year-olds could have expected 50 years ago. However, the health advantages gained over the last 50 years have not been the same for all groups. Among all major racial and ethnic groups, African American elderly fare the poorest with respect to mortality and health. (February 2008)

U.S. Population Could Reach 438 Million by 2050, and Immigration Is Key
A new report from the Pew Research Center projects that immigration will propel the U.S. population total to 438 million by 2050, from 303 million today. Along with this growth, the racial and ethnic profile of Americans will continue to shift—with non-Hispanic whites losing their majority status. (February 2008)

PopWire: A Higher Share of Young Women Than Men Have Earned B.A.s
About one-third of women ages 25 to 29 had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2007, compared with 26 percent of their male peers, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. (February 2008)

African-Born Blacks in the Washington, D.C., Metro Area
Black African immigrants began arriving in the Washington, D.C., area in the late 1950s and early 1960s as diplomats of newly independent African countries and as students, particularly at historically black Howard University. Beginning in the 1980s, these early immigrants were joined by growing numbers of refugees, diversity visa holders, and other immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Now, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area vies with New York City as the major destination for immigrants from Africa. (January 2008)