By Scott Richter and Dr. Patrick Jones
The timeless lesson of not judging a book by its cover might apply to a few graphs on the Walla Walla Trends website, too.
In the world of data visualizations and interactive websites, there are many different possibilities on how the data is presented. Often it seems as though there is an unwritten competition to outdo what has been done before or to pack as much information into a single visualization as possible.
Perhaps this is happening because more businesses and organizations are using data to inform decisions than 10-years ago. Data collection and research methodologies have changed a bit, but the different ways data can be presented has changed enormously in recent times.
While each indicator on Walla Walla Trends is thoroughly defined in the “More Information” tab, the simplest graph to convey the visual message is always the default.
Walla Walla Trends 0.3.1: Average Number of People per Household is one of the simplest graphs on the website. It has three lines, one for the Walla Walla Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), Washington State, and the U.S., have just twenty-one combined data points. However, this does not make it any less informative, but instead crucial to understanding more about the area because this is core information. The Walla Walla MSA consists of Columbia and Walla Walla Counties.
For example, the two Walla Walla Trends listed after Average Household Size are 0.3.2 Total and Share of Households with an Internet Connection and 0.3.3 Share of Household Internet Connections by Type, simple calculations can provide estimates of how many people in the MSA have an internet connection at home, as well as how many people are using a particular internet connection type.
Looking at the Average Household Size indicator, we see that the Walla Walla MSA averaged 2.40 inhabitants per household during 2019, while the state averaged 2.55 and the U.S. averaged 2.61. During 2013, the average household size in the MSA was 2.47, 2.58 in the state, and 2.65. These were changes of -0.07 people in the MSA, -0.03 people in the state, and -0.04 people in the U.S.
Most visually apparent in the graph is how the Walla Walla MSA has consistently had a lower average number of people per household than found in the state and U.S. benchmarks. Knowing just this little bit of information about the MSA, one might ask if there are more households comprised of young adults who have yet to have children or older adults with children out on their own.
0.1.2 Median Age of the Population does not help answer this question because the Walla Walla MSA is similar to the benchmarks. While not able to answer the household composition question specifically, 0.1.3 Share of Population by Age Groups clearly shows the share of the Walla Walla County (Columbia County is not included) residents ages 65+ is growing, gaining over five percentage points from 1998 to 2019. The category young adults would best fit, 18-34 years, decreased by nearly one percentage point.
While the answer is starting to appear the low number of people per household, on average, in the MSA is due to a larger and increasing share of older residents and not from a smaller and decreasing share of young adult residents in the MSA.
1.3.8 Total Families with Children Ages 0-17 with At Least One Working Parent is another article in this newsletter. It provides further insight but does not answer our original question asking if the low average people per household in the Walla Walla MSA is due to more households being comprised of young adults who have yet to have children or more households with older adults with children typically old enough to be living on their own. The insight is a breakdown of working families with children but does not provide information relating to non-working families with children. It does provide more evidence our hypothesis is correct, but still not definitive.
Each indicator on Walla Walla Trends was chosen specifically for the information it offers and are not necessarily on the website to corroborate each other – even though they often do. Sometimes it helps to go to the data source to answer any additional questions. In such an event, direct hyperlinks are offered in the Data Source section found under the “More Information” tab.
Clicking here will take you to the same webpage as the link found in the Data Source under the “More Information” tab. It will direct you to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data portal website showing Table DP02 for the MSA, state, and U.S. Here you will find additional information to better confirm the low average number of people per household in the Walla Walla MSA is probably due more to the area becoming renowned as a great place to retire and less due to fewer young adults starting families.
While the appeal of the area as a retirement community continues to grow, if more older people move here to retire and the number of young adults with children living or moving here remains relatively unchanged, this indicator will likely see the average number of people per household continue to decrease.