Demographic Report
Introduction
Jacksonville City, Florida, is one of the largest city in the contiguous United State in terms of the area covered. The city became the largest following consolidation of other smaller cities within Florida. The city also holds the highest population among all other cities in the state of Florida. The city plays a number of administrative roles, including acting as Duval County’s county seat. Jacksonville City rests on a flat plateau extending over a large area. A high water table surrounds the city, meaning that the city is susceptible to flooding. Surface lakes found in Jacksonville area are shallow since the area lies on a plateau. To the east of Jacksonville is the Atlantic Ocean. The city experiences a subtropical climate – characterized by mild winters and hot humid summers. Jacksonville City is a metropolitan city, accommodating people from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic information about Jacksonville City, Florida.
Education
Jacksonville City has a high education completion or higher-level rate at 88.1 percent, and basing on individuals above the age of 24. This is basing on information collected from 5-year estimates conducted in the years 2010 to 2014. Of this number, only about 25.5 percent of those who graduated high school achieved a bachelor’s degree. The population segment in the ages between 18 to 24 years has an estimated 86,430 persons. Of this population, about 17.5 percent were yet to graduate high school. About 41.6 percent of this population hold some college or associate degree, while 8.2 percent hold a bachelor’s degree. For the population above 25 years, there are an estimated 555,271 persons. About 3.5 percent did not complete 9th grade. About 29.3 percent hold a high school diploma, while 23.6 percent have a college degree. Of this population segment, about 17.7 percent hold a bachelor’s degree (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
Jacksonville, Florida:
Education:
- Male
- Did not complete high school (n = 20,816)
- Holds a college or associate degree (n = 37,337)
- Bachelor’s degree (n = 53,163)
- Female
- Did not complete high (n = 16,759)
- Holds a college or associate degree (n = 30,534)
- Bachelor’s degree (n = 40,594)
Population
Jacksonville City has an estimated total population of 868,031 persons as per the 2015 population estimate. In 2014, the city had a total population of about 854,962 persons. This represents a 1.5 percent growth in the population during the year. In 2010, the city had an estimated total population of 821,784 residents. This indicates that the city’s total population has increased by 5.6 percent over the last 5 years (United States Census Bureau, 2016a). The 2014 estimates indicate that there were about 58,176 children under 5 years, which represent about 6.9 percent of the population. An estimated 195,832 persons were below 18 years. This represents 23.4 percent of the entire population. On the other hand, 76.6 percent of the population is above 18 years. There are an estimated 543,601 (65 percent) persons in the age bracket between 18 and below 65 years. There were about 98,100 persons above 64 years, representing 11.7 percent of the population (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
Jacksonville city, Florida
Total population: 868,031
- Below 18 years – 23.4% (n = 195,832)
- From 18 and 64 years – 65% (n = 543,601)
- Above 64 years – 11.7% (n = 98,100)
Gender
The 2014 census estimates indicate that there were slightly more females than male in Jacksonville city. The estimated total number of males was 405,298 (or 48.4 percent) while the estimated number of females was 432, 235 (or 51.6 percent). Interestingly, there is more number of female children below 5 years compare to male in the same age bracket. There were an estimated 29,587 male children below 5 years and 28,528 female children within the same age bracket. At each successive age bracket, there are a decreasing number of males compared to the number of females within the same age bracket. From about 40 years of age, there are more females compared to male at each successive age levels. The difference widens further from age 65 and above. For the population segment above 60 years, the difference in the male/female ration is more significant. There are 62,821 (15.5%) males and 82,125 (19%) female (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
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Jacksonville, Florida:
Gender:
- Male
- Total – 48.4% (n = 405,298)
- Below 5 years – (n = 29,587)
- Above 60 years – 15.5% (n = 62,821)
- Female
- Total – 51.6% (n = 432,235)
- Below 5 years – (n = 28,528)
- Above 60 years – 19% (n = 82,125)
Race and Income levels
Jacksonville city has an ethnically diverse population. From the 2014 census estimates, the whites dominate the population, comprising about 60.2 percent of the total population. African Americans come second comprising about 30.6 percent of the population. Asians comprise about 5.5 percent of the population. The Hispanics comprise about 8.2 percent of the population. Other races take up a relatively smaller fraction of the entire population. Other races represented include Mexicans, Cubans, and other minor tribes. With regard to income levels, about 662,541 individuals are above 16 years. Of this population, 436,218 (65.8%) are in the labor force. About 64.2 percent (425,653) are in the civilian labor force. The unemployed represent 7.3 percent (48,628) of the population above 16 years. A total of 226,323 (or 34.2%) are not in the labor force. Of the total 315,619 households sampled, only 27,735 (8.8%) earn less than $10,000. Majority of the households (18.3% or 57,812) earn between $50,000 and $74,999 (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
Jacksonville city, Florida:
Race:
- Whites – 60.2% (n = 504,544)
- African Americans – 30.6% (n = 256,641)
- Asians – 4.4% (36,495)
Housing
In the housing sector, Jacksonville city has 369,318 housing units. About 85.5 percent (315,619) of the housing units had occupants. On the other hand, 14.5% (53,699) houses remained vacant by 2014. The homeowner vacancy rate stands at 2.8 while the rental vacancy rate stands at 9.4. The 1-unit, detached is the most common form of housing with a total 60.9 percent. Majority of the houses have 1 occupant per room. Specifically, about 98.9 percent of the houses have one occupant per room. Only a partial 0.2 percent has more than 1.51 occupants per room (United States Census Bureau, 2016).
Jacksonville, Florida:
Housing:
- Total – (n = 369,318)
- Occupied – 85.5% (n = 315,619)
- Vacant – 14.5% (n = 53,699)
- Average occupant per room – 1
The above statistics can help establish social stratification and social inequality trends in Jacksonville city. In the education sector, more men compared to women drop out before they graduate from high school. On the other hand, more males receive a bachelor’s degree compared to women. More males also proceed to earn graduate or professional degrees compared to women. This indicates why men dominate the employment sector and relatively earn higher incomes. The population estimates indicate that there are higher male births compare to female births. However, the mortality rate for males is higher comparing to that of females. This leads to higher number of females in the population, and at each successive age group.
About 65 percent of the population is between 18 and 65 years. This gives a low dependency ratio since majority of the people are engaged in the labor force. There are more whites in the population followed by African Americans. This means that the whites dominate most sectors of the economy, including the job and household sector. The Hispanics represent a relatively small segment of the population. Relatively higher number of males is in employment compared to females. This is likely due to the high education attainment level of males compared to females at every education level.
References
United States Census Bureau. (2016a). Quick facts: Jacksonville city, Florida. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/1235000
United States Census Bureau. (2016). American fact finder: Jacksonville, Florida. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml
