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Index: Economy / Subcategory: Individual

Income by Racial Classification

Date Updated: 10/31/2011

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The median family income is the point that divides income distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median income and one-half above the median. Median family income is based on the distribution of the total number of households and families, including those with no income.

The United States Census classifications of race are: 'White (non-Hispanic or Latino)', 'Hispanic or Latino', 'Asian', 'Black or African American', 'American Indian & Alaskan Native', 'Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander', 'Other Race', and 'Two or More Races'. For additional information, please see Classifications of Race.

Please note: Because various sources report ethnic/racial categories differently, it is the policy of COMPASS to utilize the categories designed by the data source. In addition, because Larimer County's population is not particularly diverse, this measure compares Whites (not Hispanic or Latino) with Hispanics/Latinos. The number of other races in Larimer County is too small to make any worthwhile comparisons.

What this chart shows: Median Family Income by Race/Ethnicity in Larimer County, 2006-2010

Median Family Income by Race/Ethnicity in Larimer County, 2006-2010

Data Source: United States Census, American Community Surveys

See data table

What the above data tell us:

The number of minorities living in Larimer County is small enough that in most cases there aren't enough from which to extrapolate meaningful statistics. For the purpose of this metric, only Whites who weren't Hispanic and Hispanics were compared.

Over the last 5 years, the Median Family Income (MFI) for Whites was considerably higher than for Hispanics. In 2010, the MFI for Hispanic families saw a dramatic increase, from $30,504 in 2009 to $55,266 in 2010. Due to the small sample size, the margin of error for these statistics was 36.7% in 2009 and 25.8% in 2010. Therefore, it is difficult to say with certainty that Hispanic families saw such a considerable increase in MFI in 2010.

What is likely, however, is that Hispanics families earn less than White families - a pattern that has been consistent for the five years shown above.

What this chart shows: Percentage of Households by Income Group and Race/Ethnicity - United States, Colorado and Larimer County, 2010 American Community Survey

Percentage of Households by Income Group and Race/Ethnicity - United States, Colorado and Larimer County, 2010 American Community Survey

Data Source: United States Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey

See data table

What the above data tell us:

In 2010, those earning between $50,000 and $99,999 comprised the highest percentage of White households in the United States (31.5%), Colorado (32.5%) and Larimer County (32.8%). In Larimer County, more Hispanic families earned less than $25,000 (33.8%) than in Colorado (31.9%) or the United States (30.5%).

NOTE: Although the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) estimates there are 255 Hispanic families in Larimer County earning $200,000 or more, the margin of error is 94.1% so caution should be taken when citing this figure. In 2009, the ACS estimated there were no Hispanic families in the highest income bracket.

Additional Information:

Additional Information on COMPASS -

Additional Resources -

Census Racial Classifications:

White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro-American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

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American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people who classified themselves as described below.

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Hispanic or Latino: The data on the Hispanic or Latino population, which was asked of all people, were derived from answers to long-form questionnaire Item 5, and short-form questionnaire Item 7. The terms "Spanish," "Hispanic origin," and "Latino" are used interchangeably. Some respondents identify with all three terms, while others may identify with only one of these three specific terms. Hispanics or Latinos who identify with the terms "Spanish," "Hispanic," or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the questionnaire -- "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" -- as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." People who do not identify with one of the specific origins listed on the questionnaire but indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino" are those whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican Republic, or people identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, Hispanic, Hispano, Latino, and so on. All write-in responses to the "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" category were coded.

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Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian."

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*Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander."

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Some other race: This category includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the "Some other race" write-in space are included in this category.

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Two or more races: People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses. The race response categories shown on the questionnaire are collapsed into the five minimum races identified by the OMB, and the Census Bureau "Some other race" category. For data product purposes, "Two or more races" refers to combinations of two or more of the following race categories:

  1. White
  2. Black or African American
  3. American Indian and Alaska Native
  4. Asian
  5. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
  6. Some other race

There are 57 possible combinations involving the race categories shown above. Thus, according to this approach, a response of "White" and "Asian" was tallied as two or more races, while a response of "Japanese" and "Chinese" was not because "Japanese" and "Chinese' are both Asian responses.

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Standards or Targets: N/A

Data Tables:

Median Family Income by Race/Ethnicity in Larimer County
 

White (not Hispanic)

Hispanic or Latino

2006

 $75,507 $36,981

2007

 $72,739 $32,203

2008

 $76,345 $38,256

2009

 $75,290 $30,504

2010

 $75,060 $55,266

See chart

Percentage of Households by Income Group and Race/Ethnicity, 2010
 

United States

Colorado

Larimer County

White

Hispanic

White

Hispanic

White

Hispanic

< $25,000

 21.9% 30.5% 19.3% 31.9% 20.1% 33.8%

$25-49,999

 24.2% 29.7% 22.6% 31.2% 24.3% 25.3%

$50-99,999

 31.5% 27.8% 32.5% 26.2% 32.8% 28.9%

$100-199,999

 17.7% 10.4% 20.6% 9.4% 18.7% 8.9%

>$200,000

 4.6% 1.6% 5.0% 1.3% 4.0% 3.1%

See chart