Lastest Stories by Steven Peters

Homeownership in the United States reached 63.6% this year, close to its lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking the data over 50 years ago, and down from a peak of 69.2% in 2004. Fears...
We reviewed the average price of a pack of cigarettes every year since 1954. We also reviewed how cigarette taxes and consumption have changed over the same period.
Americans purchased 17.54 million cars and light trucks in 2016 — more than ever before. While this has been a record year for a number of makes and models, not all vehicles are flying off...
Life expectancy in the U.S. has been steadily rising for decades, while the birth rate has recently fallen to record lows. Not only is the median age increasing, the percentage of the population that...
While the U.S. unemployment rate has steadily improved since the Great Recession, millions of Americans remain out of work. Every week, hundreds of thousands of the nation’s jobless apply for...
Household debt levels in the United States have nearly returned to where they were before the recession — meaning more people have saved for down payments and more are qualifying for loans. A home...
Americans bought 17.54 million cars and light trucks in 2016, yet another record and an all-time high. While not all cars sell equally fast, dealers cannot seem to keep some models in stock. With...
With data from the US Census Bureau, we estimated how many people born each year since 1933 are still alive.
The United States produced roughly 140 billion pounds of red meat and poultry in 2016, worth nearly $100 billion. Americans have each added 45 pounds of these types of meat to their diets since 1960,...
Placing an exact dollar value on land, from rivers and mountains to farm lands and dense urban centers, is virtually impossible. Some, though, have attempted to come up with a rough approximation....
Humans have always observed their environment — from their immediate surroundings to the skies and beyond. While technological advancements have increased our powers of perception, the naked senses...
The value of a dollar is not the same everywhere. Prices even of identical items vary dramatically depending on where they are sold. The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculates regional price parities...
Americans’ healthy eating habits vary widely by region, according to a recent Gallup poll. Gallup asked more than 350,000 Americans in all 50 states, “Did you eat healthy all day yesterday?”...
According to multiple studies, obesity — and even being overweight — can shave years off the average lifespan — up to 14 years in extreme obesity cases. Despite the known dangers, including...
Growing numbers of consumers are choosing to do their shopping online, and many brick-and-mortar retailers are failing to adapt to the shifting retail landscape. Once retail giants RadioShack and...