Census Data Released for Somers

The United States Census Bureau has released the first set of Census 2010 population counts, as well as data collected from Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2009 as part of the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.

The following figures are from the ACS. The figures are not from the official 2010 census population counts.

POPULATION

The current population estimate for Somers is 10,980. Included in that population are 2,269 male inmates between the Northern Correctional Institution and the Osborn Correctional Institution. Males account for 60.3 percent of the population and females account for 30.7 percent.

INCOME

Just over 8 percent of the households in Somers between 2005 and 2009 earned at least $200,000. The median income of households in Somers was $100,385. Almost 84 percent of the households received earnings and 27.5 percent received retirement income other than Social Security. Nearly 34 percent of the households received Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $17,078. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

AGE OF POPULATION

The median age is 41.4. An average of 12.3 percent of Somers residents between 2005 and 2009 were 65 or older, while just 1 percent was 85 and older. The average household size was 2.84 during the four-year span with the average family size being 3.07 people.

HOME VALUES

About 33 percent of owner-occupied homes were worth between $200,000 and $299,999, with 44.2 percent costing between $300,000 and $499,999. About 14 percent were valued from $500,000 to $999,999. There were 10 homes in town estimated to be worth more than $1 million.

SINGLE

About 38 percent of the males in Somers, 15 years old and older, were never married between 2005 and 2009 and 16.7 percent of females in that age group had never been married. Of the 65 and older population, 5.5 percent were living alone. On average, 2.3 percent of households included single mothers and children and 1.1 percent of households with children were lead by single fathers.

FAMILIES

Somers is a family-oriented town, with an average of 86.8 percent of its households identifying themselves as families between 2005 and 2009. In 75.5 percent of families with children ages six to 17, both parents worked.

In  Somers, 77.5 percent of families include married couples, and 36.9 percent of that group has children younger than the age of 18.

EDUCATION

In 2005-2009, 87.5 percent of people 25 years and older had graduated from high school or higher and just over 29.8 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Approximately 12.5 percent were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school.

The total school enrollment in Somers was 2,811 in 2005-2009. Nursery school and kindergarten enrollment was 231, while elementary and high school enrollment was 1,919 children. College or graduate school enrollment was 661.

OCCUPATION

According to the 2005 to 2009 statistics, among the most common occupations were: management, professional and related occupations, 46.4 percent; sales and office occupations, 22.2 percent; and service occupations, 16.1 percent. Production, transportation and material moving occupations, 7.8 percent; construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations, 6.8 percent; and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations made up .7 percent of the workforce.

Just over 16 percent of the people employed were federal, state or local government workers; 75.6 percent were private wage and salary workers; and 8.2 percent were self-employed.

UNEMPLOYMENT

In Somers from 2005 to 2009, an average of 3.6 percent of the civilian labor force age 16 and older was unemployed.

INDUSTRY

According to the 2005 to 2009 data, for the employed population 16 years and older, the leading industries in Somers were educational services, health care and social assistance, 22.7 percent; manufacturing, 14.2 percent; professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services, 11.1 percent; and finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing, 10.3 percent.

TRANSPORTATION TO WORK

Just over 88 percent of Somers workers drove to work alone in 2005-2009, .3 percent walked, 6.2 percent carpooled, .7 percent took public transportation and 1.4 percent used other means. The remaining 3.1 percent worked at home. Among those who commuted to work, it took them an average of approximately 25 minutes to get to work.

HEATING RESOURCES

According to the 2005 to 2009 data, 84.6 percent of heating in Somers came from fuel oil, 4.5 percent was electric, 4.2 percent was fuel from bottles, tanks or liquid propane, wood was at 4.2 percent, other fuel was at 2 percent, .4 percent came from gas, and coal and solar were recorded at zero.

BIRTHPLACE

According to the 2005 to 2009 data, 3.2 percent of the people living in Somers were foreign born. Nearly 97 percent were native, including 49 percent who were born in Connecticut.

LANGUAGE

Among people at least five years old living in Somers in 2005-2009, 10.9 percent spoke a language other than English at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 6.8 percent spoke Spanish and the remaining 4.1 percent spoke some other language; 2.8 percent reported that they did not speak English "very well."

HERITAGE

For people reporting one race alone, 83.9 percent was white; 8.2 percent was black or African American; 4.5 percent were some other race; .8 percent was Asian; 0.4 percent was American Indian and Alaska Native; and .1 percent was listed as Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander. A little over 2 percent reported two or more races.

The complete table of data is viewable on the U.S. Census Bureau Web site.