Americans are steadily abandoning traditional telephone landlines and exclusively using wireless devices. While 8.4% of U.S. households used only cellphones in 2005, this was true of nearly half of all American households only a decade later. The likelihood of living in a cellphone-only household varies considerably across states. New Jersey has the lowest share of […]

Taking risks is at the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit that is often associated with the American way of life. While not exactly entrepreneurial, perhaps nowhere is risk-taking more apparent than across the U.S. gaming sector. In a given year, state governments together generate nearly $63 billion in revenue from casinos and lotteries. This revenue […]

Wednesday, March 8 is International Women’s Day. Women and men around the world will celebrate in support of gender equality and equal opportunity for all. Some will participate in organized protests like A Day Without A Woman, and the International Women’s Strike. For many Americans, the election of Donald Trump represented a step back for […]

In America today, 62.8% of the population is white, and 12.2% is African American. Dense, urban cities tend to be more racially diverse than the country as a whole. In the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area, 59.0% of residents are white and 28.4% are African American. Wealth is often divided along racial lines. Nationwide, the typical white […]

An estimated 5.2% of American workers commute on public transit. Larger, denser cities often require comprehensive public transportation systems that can reduce residents’ dependence on automobiles and help decrease traffic congestion, air pollution, and in some cases, travel time. In the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson metro area, 6.5% of workers commute on public transit, larger than the national […]

Mankind has always sought to rise above the clouds, but it was not until the late 19th century that the technology became available to make what we commonly call skyscrapers today possible. In 1884, construction on the Home Insurance Building in Chicago was completed. It was 12 stories tall, which is practically diminutive by today’s […]

Nationwide, Americans’ well-being improved in 2016 compared to 2015 and 2014. While many enjoy comfortable, healthy, and happy living and take their well-being for granted, not all Americans enjoy such standards. For many, hardship, pain, and despair can be a part of life as for them basic elements of well-being remain elusive. The well-being of […]

In an executive order signed Friday, President Donald Trump enacted a 120-day suspension of all refugee admissions to the United States, and a 90-day suspension of all visas for nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Green card holders — legal U.S. immigrants permitted to live and work in the […]

Due to continually improved life expectancy, and as baby boomers reach retirement age, the median age of the U.S. population has been steadily increasing. The typical American today is 37.6 years old, nearly 10 years older than the median age in 1970. Despite this trend, many areas in the United States have considerably younger populations. […]

The nation’s elderly population is growing. The 2010 decennial census recorded the greatest number and proportion of Americans age 65 and older ever recorded, at 40.3 million people, or 13% of the U.S. population. Today, nearly 15% of the U.S. population is 65 or older, and that share is expected to continue to increase in […]