Friday, August 31, 2007

Ode to H.I.

It occurred to me that I haven't posted any updates on my blog recently. I haven't yet settled into a routine. And I am definitely still trying to adjust to my new surroundings. Towards that end, I was pondering the differences between the place where I lived in June and now. Also, I am a huge fan of Harper's Index, so here's my observations in Index form.

Population density of my county in Ohio: 115,000
(Persons per square mile: 205)
Population density of Orange County: 2,988,000
(Persons per square mile: 3785)
Median family income of my-little-corner-of-Ohio: $41,500
(Median income for men: $33,900)
(Median income for women: $23,200)
Per capita income: $18,500;
Median family income of Orange County: $62,500
(Median income for men: $49,000)
(Median income for women: $34,000)
Per capita income: $25,800

Statistical diversity (Ohio): 2% Black, 97% white, 1% Asian American, Native American, Latino, etc.
Statistical diversity (OC): 2% Black, 30% Latino, 1% Native American, 51% white,14% Asian American.

Percentage of population living in poverty (Ohio): 8%
Percentage of population living in poverty (OC): 8.8%

Student population of the college in Ohio: 1819
Student population at the University here in California: 30,606
Annual tuition rates for the college in Ohio: $40,022 [ ! ]
Annual tuition rates for the University in California: $3302 in-state; $13,472 out-of-state

Cause of region-wide public noise in Ohio: Tornado siren (source: municipal building; frequency: once-a-year test)
Cause of region-wide public noise in OC: percussion of fireworks (source: Disneyland; frequency: daily)

5 comments:

kungfuramone said...

WTF is going on with that tuition in Ohio?! Are there secret pockets of rich farmers or something?

Rachel said...

the tuition level is amazing. Reminds me of the kids from Michigan who did study abroad ($9000/term) because it was cheaper than staying home. Do their parents mortgage their souls to pay for it, or something?

kungfuramone said...

Hmmm...I wonder how much I could get for my soul...

Dolce Vita said...

Yeah, that tuition is insane. I should note that $8000 of it is for room and board but all students live on campus, so that isn't something they can opt out of.
Another thing related to the tuition is that this college is reportedly above average but not by much. I'm not sure what they think they're getting at that rate.
Most of the students I met came from the families in the Northeast (who had family money or were making over 100,000/year, so you can rest assured that they sold their souls somewhere along the way).

Cabiria said...

Wow, the per capita incomes, poverty rates and diversity breakdown certainly paint a clear picture of the labor/class/race divisions in the OC, don't they? Harper's Index is so awesome. I always learn something incredible. And then forget it in an hour, but so it goes.