Events Calendar
In This Section
Do we even trust our leaders to help?
Retiring old ideas about retirement
Social Security more solvent than most Americans realize
Focus group participants discuss retirement
Series looks at middle-class angst
Insurance misery has no easy cure
Health-care matchup finds Ohio falls short
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man appears alive at own funeral
Take comfort in knowing Browns could be bigger losers
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your perusal
Akron Zips:
No. 1 UA soccer remains perfect, Zips football defeats rival Flashes
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (62) The Stupak Amendment
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Published on Sunday, Sep 30, 2007
Wage and salary figures used in this project were produced by Beacon Journal reporter David Knox as part of a Kiplinger fellowship at Ohio State University's John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
The numbers were drawn from Census Bureau data prepared by the University of Minnesota's Population Center in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Unlike the familiar census tables that add up people and households grouped by gender, race, income and numerous other categories, microdata are the answers given by individuals on the census ''long-form'' questionnaires, stripped of names, addresses and other information to prevent identification.
The advantage of microdata is that the raw records can be grouped in new ways.
To track how wages have changed over years for successive generations of workers, the Beacon Journal study examined microdata covering more than five decades, from the 1950 census to the 2005 American Community Survey.
While the number of records was large 51 million the analysis was simple: After adjusting for inflation to 2006 dollars, the annual wages were sorted to determine the median, or midpoint earnings, for workers in five-year age groups and also by gender, race and level of education. Only those who reported working at least 40 weeks in the year were included.
Workers' earnings then were grouped by year of birth into four 20-year generations: GI Generation, born 1905-24; Depression kids, 1925-44; baby boomers, 1945-64; and Generation X, 1965-84.
Such detailed breakdowns are possible because of the huge number of records. And more records mean smaller error margins.
For example, the Beacon Journal study found that the median income in 2005 for women ages 30-34, with a four-year college degree, was $42,083. According to census researchers, the margin of error is $510, or 1.2 percent. In contrast, pre-election polls often have error margins of 3 percent or more.
Knox, a 58-year-old baby boomer, joined the staff of the Beacon Journal in 1991 and has been the newsroom's specialist in computer-assisted reporting since 1999. A Medina resident, he is a graduate of John Carroll University.
Wage and salary figures used in this project were produced by Beacon Journal reporter David Knox as part of a Kiplinger fellowship at Ohio State University's John Glenn School of Public Affairs.
The numbers were drawn from Census Bureau data prepared by the University of Minnesota's Population Center in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.
Unlike the familiar census tables that add up people and households grouped by gender, race, income and numerous other categories, microdata are the answers given by individuals on the census ''long-form'' questionnaires, stripped of names, addresses and other information to prevent identification.
The advantage of microdata is that the raw records can be grouped in new ways.
To track how wages have changed over years for successive generations of workers, the Beacon Journal study examined microdata covering more than five decades, from the 1950 census to the 2005 American Community Survey.
While the number of records was large 51 million the analysis was simple: After adjusting for inflation to 2006 dollars, the annual wages were sorted to determine the median, or midpoint earnings, for workers in five-year age groups and also by gender, race and level of education. Only those who reported working at least 40 weeks in the year were included.
Workers' earnings then were grouped by year of birth into four 20-year generations: GI Generation, born 1905-24; Depression kids, 1925-44; baby boomers, 1945-64; and Generation X, 1965-84.
Such detailed breakdowns are possible because of the huge number of records. And more records mean smaller error margins.
For example, the Beacon Journal study found that the median income in 2005 for women ages 30-34, with a four-year college degree, was $42,083. According to census researchers, the margin of error is $510, or 1.2 percent. In contrast, pre-election polls often have error margins of 3 percent or more.
Knox, a 58-year-old baby boomer, joined the staff of the Beacon Journal in 1991 and has been the newsroom's specialist in computer-assisted reporting since 1999. A Medina resident, he is a graduate of John Carroll University.
