Data geeks, this is your week. The U.S. Census has released some of its information related to the 2008 American Community Survey; the remainder comes out Sept. 29. The data is for counties with populations of 65,000 or more.
A few snapshots:
About half of residents in Wake, Durham and Orange counties are North Carolina natives (state median, 63 percent).
The percentage of homeowners who spend more than a third of their household income on mortgages and related costs: Wake, 26; Durham, 27; Orange, 31 (state median, 31.6 percent).
The percent of housing units that are mobile homes: Wake, 4; Durham, 1.6; Orange, 9 (state median, 14 percent).
Percentage of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren: Wake, 27; Durham, 57; Orange, estimate not available (state median, 52 percent).
Mass transit advocates have a lot of work to do: 79 percent of those surveyed in Wake County drove alone to work; in Durham, it was 74 percent and in Orange, 68 percent (state median, 80 percent).
Those using public transportation (excluding taxis) to work: 1.3 percent in Wake, 2.5 percent in Durham and 6 percent in Orange (state median, 1.1 percent).
