Census highlights

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published July 11

The census data released Wednesday for Washington state includes information on age, race, home ownership, institutionalized populations, ethnicity, household size and relationships. Some highlights:

-Live long and prosper: In Washington at the time of the census there were 895 people 100 years or older. Most -- 698 -- are women, including 18 women aged 110 or older. The place with the most centenarians per resident is the town of Cathlamet, where the population of 575 includes 3 women who have lived a century or more. Seattle has the most overall, with 146 people aged 100 or older, including seven women and three men who have celebrated their 110th birthday.

-Multicultural youth: Washingtonians who identify themselves with two or more races are substantially younger than the population as a whole. The median age for the state is 35.3, meaning half the people are older and half younger. For people who checked off two or more boxes for race on their census form, the median age was 18.9.

-No place like home: Statewide, 68 percent of us own our own homes, according to the census. The prevalence of home ownership varied with race and ethnicity: 41 percent of blacks own their own home, compared with 44 percent of Pacific Islanders, 44 percent of Hispanics, 53 percent of American Indians, 64 percent of Asians, and 71 percent of whites.

-All in the family: Of the 1.5 million families identified in the census, 43 percent are two-person households. Three-member families make up 22 percent; four members, 20 percent; five members, 9 percent; six members 3 percent; and 2 percent of Washington families have seven or more members. Again, when it comes to large families there are racial and ethnic differences: Pacific Islanders are the most likely to have a full house, with 11 percent reporting families of seven or more people. Ten percent of Hispanic respondents lived with families of seven or more. Whites were least likely to have large families under one roof -- only 2 percent reported a family size larger than six.

-Home alone: The percentage of people aged 65 and older living alone stayed steady over the past decade. Of the over-65 population living at home, about 40 percent live alone.

On the web:

Census.

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