FACTS USA Week of November 15-19 2021

More than half - 67.5% -of Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. How is your state faring? Check in the USAFacts vaccine tracker.

It's National Education Week. . .

November 15 through 19 is National Education Week. USAFacts is marking the occasion with facts and metrics on the nation's teachers and school staff. Here's a refresher on just some of the education articles and data available right now at USAFacts.org: Learn more about the nation's 4 million teachers, including that women comprise 89% of teachers in public elementary schools, 72% of teachers in public middle schools, and 60% of teachers in public high schools.   Asian and Black women are the public school teachers most likely to have a postgraduate degree.

When the National Center for Education Statistics polled public school teachers on whether they would leave teaching as soon as possible for a higher-paying job, 65% disagreed to at least some extent. Over half of those teachers strongly disagreed.   See the metrics on teacher salaries. By 2018, Illinois teacher salaries were in the middle of educator salaries nationally, while the top salary was $83,585 in New York and the lowest was in Mississippi at $43,107.   From 2000 to 2018, teacher salaries increased in 19 states while decreasing in 32 others (including Washington, DC).

Plus, be sure to check out the wide range of education data, from student-to-teacher ratios to STEM degrees conferred to how public school staffs have grown since the 1950s.  Celebrating Native American Heritage Month The 2020 census found that the number of Americans claiming some Native ancestry rose 85% since the census 10 years prior. November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to recognize the contributions Native Americans have made to the growth and vibrancy of the US. To celebrate, USAFacts analyzed the 2020 census results for a data portrait of this diverse group of people. One million people at least partially identify as Cherokee, making it the largest individual tribal identity.

Native Americans are less likely to live to be 65 or older than Americans overall. Seventeen percent of the country is 65 or older compared to 11% of Native Americans. People identifying as Cherokee have the oldest median age of any tribal grouping at 37.1 years old. Native American adults are likelier to have served in the military than the overall US population. While 6.9% of American adults are veterans, 7.5% of Native Americans are. Veteran status is highest among Blackfeet, Chickasaw, Iroquois, Sioux, Choctaw, and Cherokee tribes. See much more data in this demographic breakdown. What states grow the most Thanksgiving staples? Thanksgiving is next week, and farmers nationwide have been busy all year preparing the food that will grace American dinner tables. What states play the most prominent role in your Thanksgiving meal? Here's the delicious data behind the states and farms that produce food for the big day.

In 2020, farmers raised 224 million turkeys and produced 5.7 billion pounds of ready-to-cook turkey. Minnesota produced 40 million turkeys — the most of any state.   Americans are increasingly sweet on sweet potatoes. Annual domestic sweet potato per capita availability, a measure used as a proxy for consumption, grew from 4.2 pounds in 2000 to 6.7 in 2020.   Wisconsin produced the most snap beans of any state in 2020: 633 million pounds. Nationwide, snap beans were among the top three vegetables harvested last year. Snap bean farms covered 185,200 acres in 2020, while sweet corn covered 402,900 acres and tomatoes covered 280,000 acres. Was your favorite dish mentioned here? Read this article for more on Thanksgiving foods, including potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkins.   USAFacts talks climate on Earth911 Last week, USAFacts Data Visualization Manager Tanveer Ali dropped by the Earth911 Sustainability in Your Ear podcast to discuss how the Climate in the US is a handy tool to help Americans keep tabs on changing weather patterns. Listen here. One last fact

More than half of Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. How is your state faring? Check in the USAFacts vaccine tracker.