Les Krantz - The Unofficial U.S. Census: Things the Official U.S. Census Doesnt Tell You About America

Answers to 10 Questions the Official Census Neglected to Ask

1. What percent of Americans have at least one tattoo? 15% of Americans.
2. What is the No. 1 reason for traveling? To visit friends and relatives.
3. What destination do more Americans travel to than any other in the U.S.? Times Square, New York City.
4. What percent of American pet owners say their pet is a better listener than their spouse? 25%.
5. How much does the average American family spend per child on back-to-school clothing, shoes, and school supplies and equipment? Over $600.
6. Are more people eating donuts for breakfast now? No. Only one in 10 Americans (10%) join Homer Simpson on a donut run for breakfast, compared to 17% in 1989.
7. How big of a tip does the average person leave in a restaurant? 18%.
8. How many of us go dancing at least two times a month? 3 million.
9. Who reads more booksmodern Americans or their counterparts in the 1950s? Twice as many people read books now as compared to 1957.
10. Which five states have the highest rates of participation in volunteer activities? Utah followed by Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Alaska.

All About Love, Sex, and Family

1. How much money do Americans spend each year on online dating services? $1 billion.
2. What percent of people say they are heterosexual? 97%.
3. How often does the average American have sex? 118 times a year.
4. How many families are one-parent households? 13 million.
5. How many Americans live in a household that includes at least two adult generations? 16%.
6. What percent of marriages of at least 10 years end in divorce? 25%.
7. How many married people have a spouse from a different race or ethnicity? 14.6%.
8. What day of the week is most popular for people to look at pornographic websites? Sunday.
9. Do you live alone? 10% of Americans say yes.
10. If you are a single adult, are you looking for a relationship? Only 17% say yes.

What Americans Earn, Learn, and Give

1. Are you now enrolled in a school of any type? 26% of Americans say yes.
2. For those of you with credit card debt, whats your average total card balance? $15,788.
3. Do you have a J-O-B? 45% of all Americans 16 and older are employedthe other half are students or retirees or are not working for other reasons.
4. How many people 18 and older have a cell phone? 85%.
5. What percent of people own at least one firearm? 23%.
6. What percent of workers participate in a 401(k) or similar retirement savings plans at work? 45%.
7. How long do you spend in the car every day? The average is 55 minutes.
8. What percent of Americans leave the house for work between midnight and 6 A.M.? 6%.
9. How much does the average person donate to charity in a year? Nearly $1,000.
10. Did you give more to charity in 2009 than Stanley Druckenmiller, CEO at Duquesne Capital? No. But no one in the country could say yes to that question, since Stanley and his wife gave more than $700 million through his family foundation.

Americans Digital Habits

1. Do you have high-speed Internet access at home? 60% of Americans can surf at broadband speeds.
2. Are you on Facebook? 43% of Americans and counting have a Facebook page.
3. Do you use the Internet for online banking? 26% of Americans say yes.
4. Whats the No. 1 how-to advice Americans search for on the Internet? How to kiss.
5. What percent of Americans use only a landline phone or only a cell phone for their home phone? 20% of those homes use a cell phone only, compared to just 17% still using only a traditional phone line.
6. How many people still use a pay phone booth to make calls? Nobody knows, but they place 1.7 billion calls a year.
7. How old is the average video game player?
8. Where is the No. 1 U.S. state for jobs in the video game industry? California.
9. How many text messages do Americans send or receive? 1.5 trillion a year.
10. Do you use the Internet to read news? 43% of Internet users say yes.

Key Facts on How Americans Live and Die

1. How tall are you? The average American adult male is 59 and the average woman is 54.
2. Do you have a cardiovascular disease? 26% of Americans do.
3. How many people have Alzheimers disease? More than 5 million Americans.
4. Do you have arthritis? 22% of adults say they have some form of the condition.
5. How much chicken does the average American eat? 60 pounds a year.
6. Do you like ice cream? Apparently. The average person eats 14 pounds of ice cream a year.
7. Are you a vegetarian? 3% of Americans follow some type of vegetarian diet.
8. How much sleep do Americans get? Just 6.7 hours on weeknights.
9. Whats the likelihood that you will die from an encounter with a snake or other reptile? One in 3.8 million.
10. Whats the most likely cause of death for an American? Heart disease.

Q&A on Crime and Punishment

1. Of all Americans arrested every year, what percent are male? 75% .
2. How many people are in jail or prison or on probation or parole? 3% of American adults.
3. What percent of children 17 and younger think lying and cheating is essential for success? 51%.
4. How many high school students have cheated on tests? 75%.
5. How many Americans 12 and older use marijuana? 16 million.
6. How much do Americans spend every year on prescription drugs? $230 billion.
7. Do you smoke or chew? 70 million Americans 12 and older use some form of tobacco regularly.
8. Have you ever lied or cheated? 39% of people claim they never have.
9. Do you drink alcohol? 42% of Americans say yes.
10. What percent of married Americans have cheated with another sexual partner? Between 10% and 33%.

Whats on the American Mind

1. Do you believe extraterrestrials have visited Earth? 24% of Americans believe they have.
2. What percent of people believe the living can communicate with the dead? 21%.
3. Do you have social anxiety disorder? 7% of Americans have a form of the condition.
4. What percent of Americans who take the SAT get a perfect score? One out of every 5,000 who take the test, or two one-hundredths of 1%!
5. How many people go to a church, synagogue, or mosque weekly or several times a month? 43% of Americans.
6. Would you be willing to have a brain-implanted device that would let you access the Internet? 11% of people said okay.