Facts USA The top 10 reports of 2022

The top 10 reports of 2022

This year, readers turned to USAFacts for nonpartisan data on the nation’s shifting demographics, crime rates, and the many differences and commonalities between states. Population data, employment facts, and economic numbers were consistently popular topics. Here are the top USAFacts reports that newsletter subscribers read in 2022.

10. The State of the Union in Numbers It’s easy to see why the State of the Union in Numbers is a top feature every year. The holistic numbers covering the economy, defense spending, government actions taken the year prior, and much more, are a handy tool for context on nearly every facet of American life. Stay tuned — a new State of the Union in Numbers is coming in early 2023.

9. What drives differences in population growth? This recent article enabled people to compare the data with changes they may or may not have seen in their state. The numbers showed that the South and West were the country's fastest-growing regions since 2000 due to births and domestic migration.   8. America in Facts 2022 America in Facts is a visual deep-dive that combines federal, state, and local government metrics into a report like no other. This year’s report chronicled how federal government revenue increased by 15% in 2021 due to higher personal and corporate income tax receipts. Plus, middle-class wealth grew from $5.4 trillion in 1990 to $10.2 trillion in 2021, but their share of total wealth fell from 12% to 7%. There’s much more to see, including how the pandemic changed immigration and American education, in the full report.

7. States with the most college degrees Just shared in the newsletter earlier this month, this rundown of educational attainment by state captured readers' attention. Metrics show that the percentage of people getting a bachelor’s degree or higher has grown since 2011, while the portion of the population without a high school or GED diploma dropped.  6. Which states pay teachers the most and least? Readers were also interested in national patterns on teacher salaries. Data on 2021 educator wages showed that the national average pay for a K-12 public school teacher was $65,090. At $87,738, New York had the highest average teacher income, then Massachusetts and California.

5. What’s your inflation rate? This unique project used microdata to see how inflation rates impact Americans of various ages. The interactive chart shows how gas prices, which drove much of 2022 inflation, affect young Americans differently than older Americans. It also illustrates how spending reflects the way families age: college tuition spending eventually replaces daycare and preschool expenditures, which is then overtaken by health care spending.     4. Tracking crime rates People wanted to make sense of the crime numbers they were hearing in the news this election season, so USAFacts parsed FBI data for a closer look. The metrics showed that the 2020 national crime rate was 6.2% lower than in 2019. However, violent crime rose by 4.7%. The violent crime rate fell in most states from 1991 to 2020, but rose in 11.    3. How does GDP differ by state? US gross domestic product (GDP) is a commonly covered topic at USAFacts, but readers were curious about how their state contributed specifically. The nation’s GDP rose by 5.7% in 2021, the highest growth rate in 37 years. States with large populations tend to contribute more — California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois contributed 41% of 2021 GDP — but state productivity and income also factored in.

2. Our Changing Population This year, USAFacts launched Our Changing Population, a continually updated exploration of the US populace nationally, by state, and by county. Trace demographic shifts of all kinds in your county, places in the news, near your favorite vacation spot, and thousands of other locations with this resource.   1. Who is leaving their occupation? Is there a great resignation? What about a teacher shortage? In August, readers turned to this interactive visual for answers to these questions and more, making it the most popular report in the USAFacts newsletter for 2022. From 2017 to 2021, the percentage of bartenders who left their occupations rose from 17% to 33%. Over the same period, 3% of nurses switched occupations, and 4% stopped working. The other 93% remained in nursing. Did you find your occupation in the data? Thank you for being a subscriber and part of this mission to bring nonpartisan facts to discussions of national importance. We'll see you for even more data in 2023.   One last fact

The US maternal death rate rose from 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019 to 23.8 per 100,000 in 2020. The rate has more than doubled since 2000 when the nation had 9.8 deaths for every 100,000 live births.