How America has changed over time — demographics, voting patterns, and the issues that moved the nation. Select a lookback window, then explore each category below.
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as of 2026
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in 1976
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as of 2026
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in 1976
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as of 2026
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in 1976
C — Urban vs. Rural Drift
The share of Americans living in urban areas over time. Rural decline is one of the sharpest drivers of geographic political polarization — rural areas vote very differently than cities.
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D — Educational Attainment
% of adults 25+ holding a college degree. The college/non-college divide is the defining political fault line of modern American elections — more predictive of vote choice than income.
College attainment is rising — and it correlates more strongly with vote choice than income or race.
F — Income & Inequality
Median household income (inflation-adjusted $K) alongside the Gini coefficient — the standard measure of income inequality. Two lines that tell an uncomfortable story about shared prosperity.
Incomes rose in real terms, but the Gini coefficient increased every single decade. The gains were not evenly distributed.
G — Homeownership Cliff
The share of occupied housing units owned (vs. rented) by their occupants. The collapse of homeownership for younger Americans is one of the strongest signals of generational economic divergence.
Owner-occupancy is a primary channel of household wealth — and it stalled out for under-35s.
H — Poverty Rate
% of the population living below the federal poverty line (Census ACS). Poverty is tightly correlated with health outcomes, educational attainment, and political disengagement — a structural undercurrent of American inequality.
Poverty spiked during recessions and improved through sustained economic expansion — but never fell below 11% in the Census era.
I — The Great Geographic Sort
Domestic net migration by state in 2023 — top 10 gainers and top 10 losers. Americans are physically moving into politically homogeneous places, accelerating geographic polarization.
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Net domestic migration — interstate moves only. Federal/international migration excluded.
J — Healthcare Eating America
Medical-care CPI vs. all-items CPI, indexed to 100 at 1982. Healthcare costs have outpaced general inflation for 40+ years — a defining force on household budgets and entitlement debates.
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Indexed to 100 at 1982. Medical-care prices have risen ~2× faster than overall inflation since the early 1980s.
