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Read USAFacts’ report for Congress 

For years, USAFacts has worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle on the issue of government data for sound policymaking. But that data can be challenging to find or use.  


To help with that, USAFacts has crafted America in Facts: A Data-Driven Report for Congress. Our team interviewed 48 bipartisan congressional staff to dig deep into what Congress needs to know when crafting laws for the American people. 


But why should Congress have it all to themselves? Get a look at it for yourself right here.  

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Here's what Congress wanted to know about Americans in 2023.


Government Finances

America in Facts - Government Finances

  • From 1980 to 2022, the US population grew by nearly ​​one and a half times. Federal government spending tripled, however, from $2.1 trillion to $6.4 trillion. Social Security has been the biggest budget item for years ($2.0 trillion in 2022), while national defense and veterans spending moved up from third to second ($1.0 trillion) after assistance to individuals has lessened since the pandemic.  


  • In 2021, federal, state, and local governments employed a combined 20.7 million people. Around 79% of these employees worked for state or local governments, predominantly in elementary and secondary education. More than half of federal employees worked in national defense and international affairs.   

 

Population 

  • The nation’s birth rate rose slightly to 1,104 births per 100,000 people in 2021, the first increase since 2014.  


  • The Hispanic population grew by 28 million people between 2000 and 2022.  


  • Seventeen percent of the US population was 65 or older in 2022 — up from 11% in 1980.  


Standard of living 

  • The average middle-class family earned about $59,600 in income in 2021. That’s down 5% from 2000 after adjusting for inflation. Average income fell the most for the bottom 20% of income earners, dropping 53% to $2,461. Meanwhile, income for the top 1% increased 43% to nearly $3.4 million. 

 

Health 

  • The share of American adults with obesity has more than doubled since 1995, hitting 33.9% in 2021. Smoking has dropped to 14.4% of adults (down from about 22%). 


  •  Approximately 23% of adults ​were diagnosed with​ a mental illness in 2021. 

 

Natural disasters  

  • The federal government declared 4,473 natural disasters between 1953 and 2022, often for fires and severe storms. More than one-third of the 90 disasters declared last year were fires.  


  • Since 1980, billion-dollar natural disasters have resulted in nearly 16,000 deaths and cost $2.5 trillion (after adjusting for inflation). 

 

That’s just the beginning. America in Facts offers a wealth of numbers and information for a well-rounded look at the nation today. See the rest here. 

How often do migrants try to recross into the US? 

Border recidivism — the rate at which people try to reenter the US illegally within one year of being caught and sent back to their home country — grew in 2020 and 2021. Just how big of an issue is it, and how have policies such as Title 42 and Title 8 affected rates? USAFacts explores the data in this new article.  

Border recidivism

  • Border encounters, which include both apprehensions and expulsions, increased from 337,000 in FY 2015 to over 1.6 million in FY 2021. 


  • In fiscal year 2015, 14% of expelled migrants attempted to reenter the US illegally. By FY 2019, 7% did. By FY 2020 and FY 2021, however, recidivism rates hit 26% and 27%, respectively. Put another way, more than a quarter of migrants attempted to cross the border illegally at least twice during this time. 


  • Title 42, enacted in March 2020, made it easier for the government to expel migrants and more difficult for people to seek asylum. According to the Congressional Research Service, the increase in border recidivism rates under Title 42 was partly due to the lack of penalties for expelled migrants if they attempted to reenter the US illegally. Since its expiration in May 2023, the nation has returned to using Title 8, which imposes jail time and other penalties for illegal reentry. 


Learn more about this issue, including legal penalties under Title 8. 

Data behind the news

Hurricane Lee became a post-tropical cyclone and made landfall over the weekend in southeastern New England and Canada. Here’s how NOAA predicts hurricanes. 

 

The United Auto Workers union is on strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. See how common labor strikes are in the US here. 


Federal emergency childcare funding, part of the American Rescue Plan, is set to expire at the end of September. Who provides the majority of childcare at home? Watch this recent USAFacts interview with Jessica Yellin to find out.


Test your knowledge in the latest weekly fact quiz here.   


One last fact

States with the highest maternal mortality rates

Black women have had the nation’s highest maternal mortality rate of any racial or ethnic group since at least 2014. In 2021, six of the top 10 states with high maternal mortality rates also ranked in the top 10 for highest percentages of Black births.

  

Mississippi had the nation’s highest share of Black births and maternal mortality. Louisiana had the fourth highest maternal mortality rate and the second highest percentage of Black births.