Schools

Who Knew? Back to School Fun Facts

Summer is nearly over and for many people, that means it's time to head back to school. These fun facts from the U.S. Census reveal that school is not just for the kiddos!

Looking for back-to-school info for Land O' Lakes? Check out our Back to School Guide!

Back-to-School Shopping

$7.7 billion: The amount of money spent at family clothing stores in August 2011. Only in November and December were sales higher. Similarly, sales at book stores in August 2011 totaled $2.4 billion, the strongest sales month of the year.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade and Food Services

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When it comes to back-to-school shopping, there are thousands of choices of retail establishments. In 2009, there were-

  • 28,520 family clothing stores
  • 7,092 children and infants clothing stores
  • 26,651 shoe stores
  • 8,945 office supply and stationery stores
  • 21,628 sporting goods stores
  • 9,390 bookstores
  • 8,663 department stores

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns: 2009

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Students 

79 million: The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2010 — from nursery school to college. They comprised 27 percent of the entire population age 3 and older.

72%: Percentage of children 3 to 6 enrolled in kindergarten who attended all day, as of October 2010.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 3

24%: Percentage of elementary through high school students who had at least one foreign-born parent in October 2010.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment – Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2010, Table 1 

27%: Percentage of students ages 12 to 17 who were in a gifted class in 2009.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, A Child’s Day: 2009 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being), Table D18

 70%: Percentage of 6- to 17-year-olds who were highly engaged in school (children reported as liking school, being interested in school and working hard in school) in 2009.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, A Child’s Day: 2009 (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being); Table D27  

Colleges

16%: Percentage of all college students 35 and older in October 2010. They made up 34 percent of those attending school part time.

Rewards of Staying in School

$74,000: Median earnings of full-time, year-round workers with an advanced degree in 2009. Workers whose highest degree was a bachelor’s had median earnings of $56,000. Median earnings for full-time, year-round workers with a high school diploma was $33,000, while workers with less than high school diploma had $25,000 median earnings.

Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009


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