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COMPARING
THE DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES |
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February 2002 This report examines demographic similarities and differences across Knox County.
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In August 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, covering topics such as age, gender, and race of Knox County residents, and providing information on local family status, homeownership, and dwelling units. To get a better idea of what all the numbers mean, the Metropolitan Planning Commission summarized the raw data into demographic profiles for each census tract and made comparisons with overall profiles for Knox County, the State of Tennessee, and the United States. In doing so, a glimpse of the area’s social character was offered, showing where similarities and differences can be found.
How
the Comparisons Were Made
Countywide
Demographic Highlights
A
Closer Look at Knox County's Census Tracts Map 2: Highlights from Census Tract Profiles
Census
Tracts Most Similar to the Knox County Demographic Profile The most similar tracts achieved part of their distinction by having closely matched population shares in several age categories. In the Baby Boomer age group, for example, the Knox County average was a 30 percent share of the total population, and in each of the five most similar census tracts, Boomers accounted for about 27 to 31 percent of the totals (Table 2). Likewise, median age in each of the most representative tracts mirrored the county average of 36 years. Among other indicators, family structure in the prototypical tracts replicated Knox area averages, with a 64/36 split between family and non-family households. Average household size values, roughly 2.3 persons per occupied unit in Knox County, were also seen in each of the comparable census tracts. Map 3: Census Tracts Most Similar to the Knox County Profile
Tract 47 was most similar to the countywide profile, with highest ranks scored in family household structure, average household size, and young adult populations. Tract 39 was a close second, earning its points for similarity to the Knox average in young adult population, median age, African American population, household structure, and number of owner-occupied housing units. Tract 61.02 not only ranked high in terms of comparability to the Knox County profile, it made the Top Five list of tracts similar to Tennessee and United States averages. It scored high in the county comparison based on very closely matched age groupings, while in state and national standings, it compared favorably with Baby Boomer and elderly populations, median age, Asian representation, share of non-family households, and average household size. Though similar in many social traits, 61.02 was a poor representative of the county, state, and country in terms of racial composition. Its 97 percent share of white population greatly outpaced the broader averages, which ranged from 75 percent white nationwide to 88 percent in Knox County. While the five noted tracts exhibited general consistency with the countywide profile, a few differences could also be found within those areas. Tract 39, for example, reported an Asian population of 199, accounting for almost 3 percent of the tract’s total population. Countywide, Asian representation averaged less than half that rate, with a 1.3 percent share. American Indian populations were very different among the representative tracts, as were the numbers of elderly population and housing unit vacancy rates.
Census
Tracts Least Similar to the Knox County Demographic Profile By comparison to the Knox County average, disproportionately large shares of male population were found in Census Tracts 10 and 11, the two Fort Sanders tracts. Each reported almost 60 percent shares, while the countywide average was only 48 percent (Table 3). In the three other least similar tracts, the opposite imbalance was found: females held noticeably larger shares of total population in tracts 7, 12, and 14, ranging from about 54 to 60 percent.
Map 4: Census Tracts Least Similar to the Knox County Profile:
The age group structures of the least comparable census tracts sharply contrasted with Knox County averages. About 70 percent of the Fort Sanders population fell in the 20 to 34 years age category, primarily due to the large presence of University of Tennessee students. The shares were three times higher than the county’s 23 percent average. Consistent with college-aged population, the typical household in Tracts 10 and 11 was a non-family arrangement. In fact, 86 to 90 percent of the households in Fort Sanders were non-family, a substantial difference when compared to the 36 percent share across the rest of Knox County. In East-Central Knoxville, a similar situation existed, though not to the extreme found in Fort Sanders, as Tract 7 reported a 61.5 percent share of non-family households. On the other hand, Tract 14 showed a higher than average representation of family households than recorded at the Knox level, reaching 72 percent, while the county rate was about 64 percent. Tract 12 closely matched the county average. Related to the predominance of non-family households, average household sizes were significantly lower in Tracts 7, 10, and 11 when compared to the countywide rates. A further source of departure from the Knox area average was explained by greater racial diversity in the least similar census tracts. Majority African American populations comprised Tracts 7 and 12, holding 78 and 68 percent shares respectively. Tract 14’s population included a 29 percent African American share. By comparison, the Knox County average was 8.6 percent African American, and 88.1 percent white. In Tract 11, about 17 percent of the population reported Asian heritage, compared to the county average of just over 1 percent. Also, higher than average shares of Hispanic ethnicity were found in Tracts 12 and 14, more than double the county rate. Additional differences between Tracts 7, 12, and 14 and the countywide profile were driven by larger numbers of rental properties and markedly higher household vacancy rates. Almost 98 percent of the occupied housing units in Tract 7 were rentals; Tract 14 reported a 71 percent share, both sharply higher than the county standard of 33 percent. The three tracts notched vacancy rates ranging from 12 to 16 percent, while the Knox County average was below 8 percent. Three of the tracts that varied most from the Knox County profile also emerged as statistically different from Tennessee and United States standings. The disproportionate shares of male or female population in Tracts 7, 10, and 11 outpaced state and national rates, while also contributing were shares of African American and Asian population, non-family households, and average household size.
More Demographics Still to Come When the Census Bureau releases 2000 Census of Population and Housing figures on income and employment in the Summer of 2002, the examination of Knoxville’s social and economic similarities and differences will be expanded. All information currently available from the 2000 Census can be reviewed at the MPC library and can be purchased on CD-ROM. Detailed demographic profiles of census tracts, the City of Knoxville, Town of Farragut, Knox County, and the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area are also available on the MPC Web site www.knoxmpc.org.
MPC contact person: Terry Gilhula Printed copies of this report are available by contacting Gretchen Beal at 215-2500.
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