Percent of Elderly Living Alone
by County Subdivision in Minnesota
Source: 2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
Elderly Living Alone = Households with persons 65 Years-Old or Older living alone
Created December 2011, MDH
Kittson Roseau
Lake
of the
Woods
Marshall
Koochiching
Pennington
Beltrami
Red Lake
ClearPolk
water
Itasca
MahNorman
nomen
Hubbard
Cass
Clay Becker
Wadena
Wilkin Otter Tail
Cook
Saint Louis
Lake
Crow Aitkin Carlton
Wing
Todd
Pine
Grant
Mille
Douglas Morrison LacsKanabec
Traverse
Benton Isanti
Stevens
Big
Pope Stearns
Chisago
Sherburne
Stone
Swift Kandiyohi
Anoka
Lac
Wright
Meeker HennepinWashington
Qui Chippewa
Ramsey
McParle
Carver
Yellow Medicine Renville Leod
Dakota
Scott
Sibley
Le
LincolnLyonRedwood
Goodhue
Nicollet Sueur
Rice
Wabasha
Brown
Pipestone Cotton-Wato- Blue Waseca Dodge
Murray wood nwan Earth
Steele Olmsted Winona
Rock
Jackson
Faribault
Houston
Mower
Nobles
Martin
Fillmore
Freeborn
Percent of Elderly
Living Alone
by County Subdivision
Count of County Subdivisions: 2,757
Minimum: 0.0%
Maximum: 100.0%
Average/Mean: 9.9%
Standard Deviation: 7.8%
Count of County Subdivisions
Statistics
Percent of Elderly
Living Alone
by County Subdivision
0% - 3.9%
4% - 6.9%
7% - 10.1%
10.2% - 15.1%
15.2% - 100%
County Boundary
Percent of Elderly Living Alone
0
20
40
80
120
160
Miles
N
Explanation of the Map and Data
Percent of the County Subdivision’s Population, not the state
The map shows the percentage of each county subdivision’s households that are elderly living alone. The data does not show the share of
Minnesota’s total households that are elderly living alone in each county subdivision. For example, 9.4% of Minnesota’s households were
elderly living alone, or 196,727 households. In the City of St. Peter, 14.2% percent of households were elderly living alone, or 510
households (see the Excel data table). The map shows the percentage of the City of St. Peter’s households that are elderly living alone, not
the share of the state’s total households that are elderly living alone. If the map were to show the share of the state’s total, the City of St.
Peter would have 0.26% of the state’s total households that are elderly living alone.
Definitions
County Subdivision
County subdivisions are the primary divisions of counties. In Minnesota, they include cities, townships, and unorganized territories (i.e.,
portions of counties that are not included in any legally established city or township). The size of county subdivisions vary significantly in
geographic area and population. For example, Northwest Koochiching Unorganized Territory in Koochiching County is 2,448 square miles
and has a population of 540; while the City of Mankato in Blue Earth County is 35 square miles and has a population of 38,187.
Elderly Living Alone
Elderly persons are defined as those 65 years old and older. Elderly living alone include all households in which there is a single occupant
and that occupant is a person 65 years old or older. Households do not include group quarters owned or managed by an entity or
organization providing housing and/or services for the residents, such as college residence halls, residential treatment centers, skilled
nursing facilities, group homes, military barracks, correctional facilities, workers’ dormitories, and facilities for people experiencing
homelessness.
Statistics
The statistics are provided to summarize the data presented in the map. The descriptive statistics included on the map include the number of
county subdivisions (count of county subdivisions: 2,757), the lowest percentage of households that are elderly living alone in the county
subdivisions (minimum: 0%), the highest percentage of households that are elderly living alone in the county subdivisions (maximum:
100%), the average percentage of households that are elderly living alone in the county subdivisions (average/mean: 9.9%), and the
standard deviation of the data (standard deviation: 7.8%). The standard deviation is a measure of how spread out the numbers are, or more
specifically, a measure that tells you how tightly the data are clustered around the mean (i.e., average). A low standard deviation indicates
that the data points tend to be very close to the mean, whereas a high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a
large range of values.
The map also includes a chart of the frequency distribution of the data. This chart shows the number of county subdivisions (vertical axis) by
the percent of the households that are elderly living alone (horizontal axis). Like the standard deviation, this chart shows the distribution
variability of the data. A highly stacked frequency distribution chart shows that there is little variability in the distribution; that most county
subdivisions share a similar percent of the households that are elderly living alone. A widely disbursed frequency distribution chart shows
that there is greater variability in the distribution.
Source: 2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
The American Community Survey (ACS) collects and produces population and housing information every year instead of every ten years.
Collecting data every year provides more up-to-date information throughout the decade about the U.S. population at the local community
level. About three million housing unit addresses are selected annually, across every county in the nation.
Single-Year Estimates
The ACS produces 1-year estimates annually for geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more. This includes the nation, all
states and the District of Columbia, all congressional districts, approximately 800 counties, and 500 metropolitan and micropolitan
statistical areas, among others.
Multiyear Estimates
The ACS produces 3-year and 5-year estimates annually for geographic small areas (down to Census Block Groups), areas with a
population of 20,000 or more, including the nation, all states and the District of Columbia, all congressional districts, approximately
1,800 counties, and 900 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, among others.
The Census Bureau collects ACS data from a sample of the population in the United States and Puerto Rico--rather than from the
whole population All ACS data are survey estimates. To help you interpret the reliability of the estimate, the Census Bureau
publishes a margin of error (MOE) for every ACS estimate. American Community Survey 1-, 3-, and 5-year estimates are period
estimates, which means they represent the characteristics of the population and housing over a specific data collection period. Data
are combined to produce 12 months, 36 months or 60 months of data. These are called 1-year, 3-year and 5-year data.
For guidance on comparing 1-year, 3-year and 5-year American Community Survey estimates with Census 2000 and Census 2010,
see here: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/comparing_data/
Data available for download here: http://factfinder2.census.gov/
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/acs/www/)
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