Affluence vs. Voting Patterns

[Filuwaúrdjan]

State, Average Monthly Income, Bush's 2000 PV
District of Columbia   1039   8.95
Connecticut   911   38.44
New York   904   35.23
Massachusetts   871   32.5
New Jersey   863   40.29
California   784   41.65
Illinois   764   42.58
Delaware   759   41.9
Michigan   734   46.14
Washington   731   44.56
Colorado   731   50.75
Maryland   728   40.18
Minnesota   722   45.5
Texas   707   59.3
Virginia   707   52.47
New Hampshire   704   48.07
Georgia   692   54.67
Alaska   691   58.62
Pennsylvania   678   46.43
Ohio   648   49.97
Arizona   647   50.95
Missouri   640   50.42
Rhode Island   639   31.91
Oregon   636   46.52
Nevada   635   49.52
Indiana   626   56.65
North Carolina   625   56.03
Tennessee   624   51.15
Wisconsin   618   47.61
Florida   612   48.85
Kansas   597   58.04
Hawaii   595   37.46
Kentucky   591   56.5
Vermont   589   40.7
Alabama   587   56.47
Louisiana   577   52.55
Utah   577   66.83
South Carolina   567   56.83
Maine   562   43.97
Iowa   561   48.22
Nebraska   559   62.25
Wyoming   544   67.76
New Mexico   542   47.85
Oklahoma   542   60.31
West Virginia   535   51.92
Idaho   534   67.17
Arkansas   533   51.31
Mississippi   506   57.62
North Dakota   502   60.66
South Dakota   498   60.3
Montana   477   58.44

Very strong correlation

Lies, damn lies, and statistics. In most states, the poorest areas go Dem and the richest GOP.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Does anyone see Bush winning any of the 10 other than Morris, Hunterdon, and Loudon?

If Bush really has gained in NJ he'll win Somerset again... I suppose he has a chance in Fairfax... but Kerry will probably win that one.
Out of interest, what are the 10 poorest counties (according to etc) ?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Out of interest, what are the 10 poorest counties (according to etc) ?

Percent of People Below Poverty Level:
Population for Whom Poverty Status is Determined (County level)
 
    County                            Percent Impovrished
1  Hidalgo County, TX         36.2
2  Cameron County, TX       34.8
3  Bronx County, NY            29.8
4  El Paso County, TX          26.7
5  Tulare County, CA           25.0
6  St. Louis City, MO            24.0
7  Nueces County, TX          23.1
8  Orleans Parish, LA           21.7
9  Philadelphia County, PA  21.2
10  Baltimore City, MD         20.6
11  Kings County, NY           20.4
12  Fresno County, CA        20.1
13  Kern County, CA            19.8
14  Mobile County, AL          19.6
14  New York County, NY     19.6

Al-

For kicks, look at the blackest and most hispanic counties list and compare.

By poorest I meant lowest income

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There is some correlation between poverty and ignorance and between ignorance and voting for Bush.

CTGuy:  OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's all relative. Take Connecticut as an example.
Look at the 2000 Town map on the Atlas (it's free) and compare it to This

P.S:
Median Household income is more useful than personal income IMO.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Recommended:

http://www.fairdata2000.com/SocioEconMapper/

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Al, That was a great link with the socio-economic map.  I recommend that to everyone.  I agree that wealth is relative to how most people vote.  The few "affluent" communties here is the Northeast that do vote Republican do so because they wouldn't consider themselves affluent.  The cost of living in the Northeast is so high that people making good money are just middle class.  For instance, the starting salary for a NYC school teacher is $39,000.  It would look like a great salary in say Montana but it is hard to live on in New York with houses averaging close to half a million dollars.
In closing I think voting patterns have a lot more to do with geography and "values" than how much you make. I am a conservative Republican here in New York but I am probably a lot more "liberal" on many issues than a Democrat from the south or Midwest. Both Dems and Repubs. slight the Northeast a few ways.  Democratic tendencies for higher taxes for the rich hurt the middle class here because a school principal or veteran cop would be considered wealthy in their tax structures. A Republican pork controlled congress kills us because Wyoming of all places is getting like 7 times the amount of terroism funding per capita than New York.  A little bit of common sense from both parties would go a long way.  End of rant. Take care  

Historical Geography is often very importent... rural Tennessee being the usual example.
I think that cultural issues are over-rated as a voting indicator... unless you're using it as a euphamism for racial voting...