Census stats show how we rate against other states

How do we rate compared with other states? The U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States reveals some interesting facts, which the Wisconsin State Journal published on Jan. 7. Here’s what they found:

• 91.2 percent of Wisconsinites had health insurance in 2006, putting Wisconsin second nationally for access to health coverage
• 20.8 percent of Wisconsin adults smoked cigarettes in 2006, the 23rd-highest rate in the nation
• 29.4 percent of the state’s residents had more than five drinks in one sitting in the past 30 days, putting us second only to North Dakota (30.3 percent)
• $3,006 was the average charitable donation per 2005 Wisconsin tax return – the third-lowest in the nation
• $30,655 was the average annual income in 2007 in Wisconsin, the 25th-highest in the nation
• 7.3 percent of Wisconsin families lived in poverty in 2006, 14th in the nation
• 21 minutes is the average commute here, the 12th shortest time nationally
• 179.5 fraud complaints were filed per 100,000 Wisconsin residents in 2007, the 16th-highest ranking
• 43.7 cases of identity theft were reported per 100,000 residents, 10th-lowest
• $245 per person was spent on police in Wisconsin in 2005, the 18th-highest amount
• $218 was spent per person on prisons here in 2005, the 12th-highest total
• 65 percent of Wisconsin homes had Internet access in 2007, the 14th-highest in the nation

See the original story from the Wisconsin State Journal.

View more state-specific facts from the latest Census figures. (Click “More Wisconsin data sets” for additional information.)

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