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Understanding Education & Work Data
This page provides detailed insights about your district's educational landscape and workforce, based on the 2019-2023 American Community Survey (ACS).
What You'll Find Here
-
Educational Attainment
- College graduates and advanced degrees
- High school completion rates
- Residents with some college experience
-
Labor Force Status
- Employment and unemployment rates
- Working-age adults in the labor force
- Military service members
-
Industry of Employment
- Major employment sectors
- Government and private sector jobs
- Key local industries
-
Commuting Details
- How residents get to work
- Average commute times
- Work-from-home rates
Why This Matters
Understanding your district's education and work patterns helps with:
- Planning job training programs that match local needs
- Making informed transportation and infrastructure decisions
- Identifying educational achievement gaps
- Creating policies that support both traditional and remote workers
Understanding Educational Attainment
Quick Summary:
The educational attainment chart shows the highest level of education achieved by residents 25 and older. This data comes from the American Community Survey (2019-2023) and helps you understand:
- What percentage of adults completed each level of education
- The overall education level of your workforce
- How education levels might affect community needs and priorities
Reading the Education Chart
The chart shows five main education levels:
- Graduate Degree:
- Master's degrees
- Doctoral degrees (Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.)
- Professional degrees (law, medical, etc.)
- Bachelor's Degree: Four-year college degrees
- Associate's Degree: Two-year college degrees
- Some College:
- People who attended but didn't complete college
- Those with certificates or professional training
- Current students (if they're 25 or older)
- High School Graduate:
- Traditional high school diplomas
- GED or equivalent certificates
Why Education Levels Matter
Education data can help you:
- Plan Economic Development:
- Understand what types of jobs might succeed
- Identify needs for job training programs
- Help attract businesses that match workforce skills
- Shape Political Strategy:
- Understand likely voter priorities
- Adapt communication styles
- Focus on relevant policy issues
- Guide Community Programs:
- Adult education needs
- Job training opportunities
- College readiness programs
Important Context:
- These numbers come from surveys, not exact counts
- They only include adults 25 and older
- Education levels can vary widely within a district
- Formal education isn't the only measure of skills or capability
Understanding Labor Force Status
Quick Summary:
The Labor Force Status table shows how many adults (16 and older) are working or looking for work. The data groups people into two main categories - those who are in the labor force (either working or actively seeking work) and those who aren't.
Breaking Down the Numbers
In Labor Force:
- Employed: People who:
- Have a job (full or part-time)
- Are temporarily away from work (vacation, illness, etc.)
- Are self-employed
- Unemployed: People who:
- Don't have a job
- Have actively looked for work in the last 4 weeks
- Are available to start work immediately
- Armed Forces: Active duty military personnel
- Only shown if there's a significant military presence
- Reserves and National Guard members are counted as civilian employed
Not in Labor Force:
- Retirees
- Students not working or seeking work
- Stay-at-home parents or caregivers
- People unable to work due to disability
- People who have given up looking for work
Understanding Unemployment
The unemployment number might seem lower than you expect because:
- It only counts people actively seeking work
- Someone who stops looking for work moves to "Not in Labor Force"
- Part-time workers who want full-time work are counted as employed
- It doesn't count underemployed people (those working jobs below their skill level)
Why These Numbers Matter
- Community Health:
- High employment usually means a strong local economy
- High unemployment might signal need for job training or economic development
- Large "not in labor force" could mean lots of retirees or students
- Policy Priorities:
- Job creation initiatives
- Workforce development programs
- Services for retirees or students
Important Context:
- This data comes from the 2019-2023 American Community Survey
- Numbers can change quickly with economic conditions
- Local unemployment rates might differ from national news headlines because they're measured differently
- Military numbers might be undercounted in some areas due to deployment patterns
Understanding Industry Employment Data
Quick Summary:
This section shows what industries employ residents in your district. The data comes from the American Community Survey (2019-2023) and shows:
- What percentage of workers are in each major industry
- Which sectors dominate the local economy
- How diverse or concentrated the job market is
Understanding Industry Categories
Here's what each major category includes:
- Education, Healthcare & Social Services:
- Public and private schools
- Colleges and universities
- Hospitals and medical practices
- Social work and counseling
- Childcare and elder care
- Professional, Scientific & Management:
- Law firms
- Engineering and architecture firms
- Computer programming and IT
- Scientific research
- Management consulting
- Corporate headquarters
- Retail Trade:
- Department stores
- Grocery stores
- Car dealerships
- Shopping centers
- Online retailers
- Arts, Entertainment, Food & Accommodation:
- Restaurants and bars
- Hotels and motels
- Museums and theaters
- Sports venues
- Recreation facilities
- Tourism services
- Public Administration:
- Federal government agencies
- State government offices
- Local government departments
- Military bases
- Courts and justice system
- Manufacturing:
- Factories and plants
- Food processing
- Electronics assembly
- Vehicle production
- Industrial manufacturing
- Construction:
- Building construction
- Home builders
- Special trade contractors
- Highway and street construction
- Building maintenance
- Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities:
- Trucking and freight
- Public transit
- Warehouses and distribution
- Electric and gas utilities
- Water and sewage systems
- Finance, Insurance & Real Estate:
- Banks and credit unions
- Investment firms
- Insurance companies
- Real estate agencies
- Property management
- Wholesale Trade:
- Product distributors
- Business-to-business sales
- Industrial suppliers
- Commercial wholesalers
- Information:
- Publishing companies
- Broadcasting stations
- Telecommunications
- Data processing
- Internet service providers
- Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Mining:
- Farms and ranches
- Logging operations
- Commercial fishing
- Mining operations
- Oil and gas extraction
Why Industry Mix Matters
Understanding the industry makeup of your district helps with:
- Economic Planning:
- Identifying dominant and growing sectors
- Assessing economic vulnerabilities
- Planning workforce development
- Political Strategy:
- Understanding voter priorities
- Identifying key employer stakeholders
- Tailoring economic messaging
- Policy Development:
- Targeting business development efforts
- Planning transportation needs
- Developing job training programs
Reading the Numbers
A few things to keep in mind:
- Percentages show where residents work, not what jobs are located in the district
- People might commute outside the district for work
- Higher percentages in professional industries often indicate:
- Higher education levels
- Higher income levels
- More white-collar jobs
- Higher percentages in service industries often indicate:
- More diverse skill levels
- More varied income levels
- More shift work and non-traditional hours
Important to Remember:
- This data comes from surveys, so numbers are estimates
- Industry patterns can change as companies move or grow
- The pandemic has affected many industry employment patterns
- These categories reflect primary employment (people's main jobs)
Understanding Commute Data
Quick Summary:
This section shows how workers in your district get to their jobs and how long it takes them. The data comes from the American Community Survey (2019-2023) and shows:
- What transportation methods people use to get to work
- How long their commutes typically take
- How many people work from home
Transportation Methods Explained
Here's what each category means:
- Drove Alone:
- People who commute by themselves in a car, truck, or van
- Most common method in most areas
- High percentages often indicate car-dependent areas
- Carpooled:
- Sharing rides with other workers
- Includes formal carpools and informal arrangements
- Can indicate efforts to reduce transportation costs
- Public Transit:
- Bus, light rail, subway, or commuter train
- Higher in urban areas with good transit infrastructure
- Important for workforce accessibility
- Bicycle:
- Includes both personal bikes and bike-share programs
- Higher in areas with good bike infrastructure
- Often indicates younger, environmentally conscious population
- Walked:
- People who walk to work
- Common in dense urban areas
- Can indicate mixed-use development
- Worked from Home:
- Remote workers and home-based businesses
- Significantly increased since COVID-19
- Often indicates professional/tech workforce
Understanding Commute Times
Commute duration breaks down into four main brackets:
- Less than 15 minutes:
- Very short commutes
- Often indicates living close to job centers
- Common in smaller towns or mixed-use areas
- 15-29 minutes:
- Typical suburban commutes
- Generally considered reasonable
- Most common timeframe in many areas
- 30-44 minutes:
- Longer commutes
- Often crosses municipal boundaries
- May indicate housing affordability issues
- 45+ minutes:
- Very long commutes
- Often indicates "bedroom communities"
- May signal housing-jobs mismatch
Why Commute Patterns Matter
Understanding how people get to work helps with:
- Transportation Planning:
- Where to invest in transit
- Road improvement priorities
- Bike and pedestrian infrastructure needs
- Economic Development:
- Job accessibility issues
- Housing-workplace relationships
- Remote work infrastructure needs
- Environmental Policy:
- Transportation emissions impact
- Alternative transportation opportunities
- Traffic reduction strategies
Important to Remember:
- These numbers are five-year averages (2019-2023), which helps create more reliable estimates
- Work patterns can change quickly, especially with the rise of remote work
- Commute patterns can vary significantly by neighborhood within a district