USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Introduction

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Introduction

America's transportation system continues to change along with the population, work force, and economy. The following table puts those changes in perspective:

Excel | CSV

Context 1990 2006
Resident population (thousand) 248,791 299,398
Total area (thousand sq. mi.) 3,718 3,794 (2000) a
Total civilian labor force (thousand) 125,840 151,428
Real gross domestic productb (trillion) $7.1 $11.3
Median household incomeb,c $36,668 $41,350
Average household incomeb,c $39,073 $51,929
Average household expendituresb,c $35,257 $42,204
Number of households (thousand) 93,347 114,384
Life expectancy at birth (years) 75.4 77.8 (2004)

a Data for 2000 include inland water, coastal water, Great Lakes, and territorial water. The Census Bureau tabulates area data for the decennial census years only.

b Data in 2000 chained dollars (see Glossary for definition).

c BTS computations, November 2007.

Sources: Area-U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002 and 2007, available at www.census.gov, as of Oct. 2007. GDP-USDOC, Bureau of Economic Analysis, available at www.bea.gov, as of Oct. 2007. Population, number of households, and median household income-USDOC, Census, available at www.census.gov, as of Oct. 2007. Average household income and expenditures, and labor force-U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at www.bls.gov, as of Oct. 2007. Life expectancy-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, available at www.cdc.gov, as of Oct. 2007.