A variety of calculations are provided as a value-added feature, helping put the data into context. Percent changes,
distributions and shares of United States or individual state can help the user understand the specific county’s position nationally or statewide.
Percent changes provide look at change over a given period of time. The earlier year is subtracted from the
latest year, divided by the earlier year and presented in percent (rather than fraction) form in this profile.
Percent of U.S. or State (sometimes referred to as share) is a way of comparing the county to the U.S. or its
state. For example, the state of Illinois has 4.38% of the nation’s population. The percent of U.S. or State when calculated based on per capita or rate can be used as a relative measure and show whether the
county is doing worse, better or the same as the U.S. or State. For example, Illinois as a percent of U.S. per capita income is 109.1%. This means that Illinois’s per capita income is 9.1% greater than
that of the U.S.
Percent within County is a percent distribution calculation—that is, the percent of married couples households as a
percent of all households.
Adjustment for inflation was made on all dollar values. This was done using the CPI (consumer price index) for
the years being compared.