Army Recruits by Race According to Neighborhood Income, 2004

The graph below shows the distribution of active-duty Army recruits for 2004 according to race/ethnicity and the median household income of each recruits' ZIP code.  (Data is not available for the individual recruits' median household income.) The chart below indicates, for example, that 15.5% of Black recruits in 2004 came from neighborhoods with a median household income level of $29,240 or below. Only 4.7% of White recruits came from such neighborhoods.  (The comparable median household income for the U.S. is $47,837.)

Notes: Median household income estimates by ZIP code are drawn from 2005 estimates from Claritas, Inc [1] . [1] (These data were purchased by NPP.) Though the Army data are for FY2004, Claritas did not make estimates by ZIP code for 2004, nor did any other major demographic company or government agency. Army data were obtained from the Army through FOIA requests submitted by Peacework Magazine. The graph includes data for 63,039 recruits. Recruits from Puerto Rico and U.S. territories are not included.  Recruits which came from ZIP codes with median household incomes of zero, or less than $5,000, were supressed since that effectively means we have incomplete data on the ZIP codes in which they live. Fewer than 2% of recruits were excluded.