Educational Profile of the Southeast Region

Scott Smith, Regional Economist

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a statistical survey administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as educational attainment, income and housing characteristics by age and sex. Sent to 3.54 million addresses annually, it is the largest survey (other than the decennial census) that the Census Bureau administers.

The ACS offers insights how the country’s workers of varying educational attainment are distributed and how they are compensated.

As a point of reference, on average, U.S. workers who possess less than a high school diploma earn $19,954. High school graduates earn $27,868. Workers who earned an associate’s degree or attended college earned $33,988. College graduates earn $50,515. Recipients of graduate degrees make $66,944.
Nationally, men make more than women. For example, women earn between 32 and 34 percent less than males with equivalent educational background. Some, but not all, of this difference can be explained by a significant proportion of women who choose part-time employment.

The ACS also maps the composition of the labor force by highest educational attainment. Nationally, roughly 12 percent of the 25-year-and-older population has not graduated from high school. Almost 27 percent of the population has a high school diploma while 31 percent has advanced to an associate’s degree or has attended university. A little more than 30 percent has a bachelor’s degree.

What follows is a comparison of the population of the counties in the Southeast Region against the national statistics.

Grand County

On average, Grand County residents who possess a high school diploma earn $31,396. Workers who have earned an associate’s degree or attended college earn $23,051. College graduates earn $31,174. The reader should regard these median income statistics with some skepticism; analysts speculate that they are a product of large sampling errors. Holders of graduate degrees substantially out earn bachelors, $53,000 compared to $31,174.

Workers in Grand County earn 70 percent of the U.S. median. With respect to gender, women in the county earn 65 percent of men’s wages, while the analogous U.S. figure is 72 percent; however, these figures are suspect. This is evidenced in the ACS reports that women with less than a high school education earn 195 percent of the equivalent man’s income, while women who hold bachelor’s degrees only make 37 percent.

High school graduates in Grand County earn 113 percent of the U.S. median. Men earn 104 percent of the U.S. median for men, while women earn 106 percent of the U.S. median for women. Grand County residents who hold an associate’s degree or have attended college make 68 percent of the U.S. average. Men earn 61 percent of the U.S. median, while women earn 66 percent. College graduates in Grand County make 62 percent of the U.S. median. Men earn 66 percent of the U.S. median for men; in contrast, women earn only 32 percent of the U.S. median for women. Recipients of graduate degrees earn 79 percent of the U.S. median. Men make 65 percent, while women make 60 percent of their respective median.

Grand County’s population differs from the U.S. by educational attainment. Almost 43 percent of the county’s population reports holding an associate’s degree or having attended college — the national number is 31 percent. Only 22 percent of the county’s population holds at least a bachelor’s degree — the national figure is 31 percent.

San Juan County 

San Juan County who possess less than a high school diploma earn on average $18,906. High school graduates earn $24,705. Workers who have earned an associate’s degree or attended college earn $28,333. College graduates earn $41,354. Recipients of graduate degrees make $49,694.

Workers in San Juan County earn 82 percent of the U.S. median. With respect to gender, women earn 60 percent of men’s wages, while the analogous U.S. figure is 72 percent. It is interesting to note that women in San Juan County with college educations perform better than their national counterparts. Women with bachelor’s degrees earn 72 percent of their male counterparts’ income, while women who hold graduate degrees earn 90 percent of their male coworkers’ income. High school graduates in the county earn 89 percent of the U.S. median. Men earn 97 percent of the U.S. median for men, while women earn only 64 percent of the U.S median for women. San Juan County residents who hold an associate’s degree or have attended college make 83 percent of the U.S. median. Men earn 92 percent of the U.S. median, while women earn 81 percent of their respective statistic. College graduates in San Juan County make 81 percent of the U.S. median. Men earn 72 percent of the U.S median for men; in contrast, women earn 77 percent of the U.S. median for women. These statistics are suspect due to large sampling error. Recipients of graduate degrees earn 74 percent of the U.S. median. Men make 64 percent of the median; surprisingly, women make 86 percent of the median for women with graduate degrees.

San Juan County’s labor demographics differ markedly from the nations because of participation rates and educational attainment. For individuals with less than a high school education, more than 7.9 percent of the county population is not in the labor force — the U.S. number is 4.7 percent. More than 15 percent of county residents with a high school diploma do not participate in the labor market. The analogous national number is a little more than 7 percent. The county also has less college graduates than the nation as a whole — 19 percent of the county’s population possesses a bachelor’s degree of higher (the national figure is 31 percent).

Reviewing the 2012 Agricultural Census for the Southeast Region

Scott Smith, Regional Economist

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is just that — a census. It is an attempt to count an entire population and generally does not use sampling or statistical techniques to make conclusions about the population. It is conducted every five years and includes all farm operators regardless of whether farming is their primary or secondary occupation. Operators and hired laborers are combined for a total count. There can be a maximum of three operators per farm, but labor hired on a contract basis is not covered.

The Southeast Region agriculture is largely devoted to the livestock business, this by raising cattle or growing hay. There is also some wheat farming worth noting in San Juan County. 2012 net cash income per farm for Grand County was -$3,725. The analogous figure for San Juan County was -$1,522. The vast majority of farms have annual total sales less than $250,000.

Southeast Region 2012 employment was 1,679 jobs according to the census (this number may slightly differ from other data presented because of confidentiality issues). The state’s unemployment insurance data suggests that a very small number of these jobs generate the income or possess the duration to be considered “full time” employment in the urban sense. Further data indicates that most farmers and ranchers are sole proprietors (regardless of how they are organized for tax purposes). Finally, a comparison of the other sources and the census figures shows that most individuals involved in agriculture have their primary job in other sectors of the economy.

The size and composition of the agricultural workforce has changed markedly over time. In 2002, the total Southeast Region agricultural workforce was 839 workers, of which 40 percent was hired labor. That total increased by 112 percent to 1,776 in 2007, yet the share of hired laborers fell to 16 percent in the same period (although this statistic may be skewed downward because of reporting issues). In 2012, the agricultural employment count fell 5 percent to 1,679 and the share of hired labor increased slightly to 20 percent.

In 2002, the labor cost per worker (as defined by dividing annual labor expense by the hired workforce) was $1,270. In 2007, the cost had fallen by 33 percent to $850. In 2012, this number had increased by 15 percent to $980. In contrast, inflation increased by 15 percent and 9 percent as of 2007 and 2012, respectively.

There were 325 principal operators in the Southeast Region in 2002 (the statistics refer to “principal” operator and therefore will not agree with other totals). The number of operators increased to 848 in 2007, which is an astounding 161 percent increase. The count dropped slightly to 827 in 2012. The share of operators relying on other sources of employment has been remarkably constant. In 2002, the proportion was 41 percent. It dropped slightly to 40 percent in 2007. The share then increased to 46 percent in the 2012 Census.

Analysts are unable to convincingly explain the employment patterns with income statistics. One would expect to observe the number of operators falling in concert with the decline in income. Similarly, one should expect that operators would seek other sources of employment when income declines. Farm income per operator was $2,723 in 2002, and then decreased 300 percent to -$2,085 in 2007. In 2012, income per operator declined another 19 percent with a total of -$1,738.