Chapter Three: Economic Outlook
Chapter Five: CrimeOf 55 total units in the Trinity Court and Pritchard Park communities, Trinity Court houses 40 apartment units. Pritchard Park houses an additional 15 units. There are 137 residents who are currently2 living in these developments, with 90 occupying Trinity Court and 47 in Pritchard Park. The mean age of adult residents in the two communities is 38 years. Of these residents, the overwhelming majority are African-American (98%) which is in stark contrast to the population of Chapel Hill in which the number of African-Americans is only 13% of the total population. The information in this chapter on Trinity Court and Pritchard Park was based on the most recent survey of the residents at this writing. The data reported at the Chapel Hill and North Carolina level came from the 1990 U.S. Census. This lag of nearly a decade most likely creates a misrepresentation of the current demographic details of Chapel Hill. Without more recent records, these outdated figures are only useful for creating a framework in which to consider Trinity Court and Pritchard Park as they are situated in Chapel Hill.
Other than a striking difference in racial composition separating the town of Chapel Hill from Trinity Court and Pritchard Park, there is a gender disparity between the communities and the town as well. Chapel Hill is 55% female, which is a relative balance of gender. Both Trinity Court and Pritchard Park are 69% female in all age groups and 81% female, when only considering those residents that are over age 18. Officially there are 11 males classified as permanent residents of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park. There are a number of additional males who reside in Trinity Court and Pritchard Park, but they are not listed as official residents on the lease. Because most of the adults are female, it is evident that the average family structure in Trinity Court and Pritchard Park is not a two-parent household. In fact, only four families (8%) in Trinity Court and none in Pritchard Park are two-parent families. In contrast, of the family households (as defined by the U.S. Census of the population) in Chapel Hill, 81.5% are two-parent and only 14.5% of families are headed by single women (Table 1).
| Household | U.S. | N.C. | Orange | Chapel Hill | TC and PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-Parent | 79.5% | 79.4% | 81.7% | 81.5% | 8.0% |
| Female-Headed | 16.0% | 16.6% | 14.3% | 14.5% | 86.0% |
Source: U.S. Census of the Population (1990); Trinity Court and Pritchard Park Family Resource Center Database (Sept. 1998)
Another unique feature of the demographics of the residents of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park is the financial situation of the residents. Considering their placement in public housing, it follows that the economic situation of each of these families is different from that of the average resident of Chapel Hill. The median income of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park families cannot be estimated because figures are unavailable at the housing community level. It is known, however, that only 13% of the residents are classified as wage earners in the Housing Department records.
As of April 1997, Orange County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 1.0% (N.C. Employment Security Commission, 1997). Data were not available for the racial breakdown of this rate from the NCESC, so statistics from the 1990 U.S. Census are used to show the differences between racial and gender groups. Again, because of the time lapse these percentages may no longer be representative of the population. In the Chapel Hill population at large, 61% of Caucasian males, 53% of Caucasian females, 64% of African-American males, and 51% of African-American females were employed according to the 1990 U.S. Census of the population (Table 2). The most common types of employment in Chapel Hill were managerial and professional specialty occupations (46%), followed by technical, sales, and administrative support occupations (34%), most commonly associated with private for profit wages (45%).
| Employed | Unemployed | Not in Labor Force | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caucasian Males | 61% | 3% | 37% |
| Caucasian Females | 53% | 2% | 45% |
| African-American Males | 64% | 4% | 32% |
| African-American Females | 51% | 7% | 42% |
Source: U.S. Census of the Population (1990)
According to the 1990 U.S. Census of the Population, the median family income for Chapel Hill was $50,133 (Table 3). Ten percent of the Chapel Hill population had an income below $15,000 a year, while approximately 50% of the families were earning over $50,000 a year. Thirty percent were earning more than $75,000 a year in 1989 (U.S. Census of the population, 1990).
| Family Income in 1989 | Chapel Hill | Cumulative Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $9,999 | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| $10,000 - $19,999 | 8.5 % | 15.0% |
| $20,000 - $29,999 | 12.5 % | 27.5 % |
| $30,000 -$39,999 | 12.0 % | 39.5 % |
| $40,000 - $49,999 | 10.0% | 49.5% |
| $50,000 - $59,999 | 8.0 % | 57.5 % |
| $60,000 - $74,999 | 12.5% | 70.0% |
| $75,000 - $99,999 | 11.5 % | 81.5 % |
| $100,000 - $124,999 | 5.0 % | 89.5 % |
| $125,000 - $149,999 | 4.5% | 94.5 % |
| $150,000 or more | 4.5 % | 99.0 % |
Source: U.S. Census of the Population (1990)
The presence of the University of North Carolina and the proximity of Research Triangle Park explain much of the incongruity between the income levels of the residents of Chapel Hill. Research Triangle Park has the highest per capita density of individuals with a Ph.D. in the United States (U.S. Census of the Population, 1990), which can create economic disparities in a small town such as Chapel Hill.
Due in part to the large demand created by students attending the university, Chapel Hill is a town in which there are many apartment complexes. The median gross rent for renter-occupied housing units paying cash rent in 1989 was $487 per month. Merely 14% of apartments were available for under $350 per month, creating a difficult environment for a family to find reasonably priced housing (U.S. Census of the Population, 1990). According to Chapel Hill Housing Department leasing guidelines, rent for apartments in Trinity Court and Pritchard Park is based on a family's income. As such, there is a range of rent that families currently pay to live in public housing. The range of rent presently ranges from $0 (i.e., free) to $500 per month.
Most of the residents of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park live below the poverty level, which explains their presence in the housing system. In 1989, about 16% of the population lived below the poverty line in Chapel Hill. This proportion of the population living below the poverty line is comprised, in part, of 15% of the total Caucasian population and 25% of the total African-American population. Table 4 shows selected sources of income for Trinity Court and Pritchard Park families.
| Source | Percentage of TC and PP Recipients |
|---|---|
| TANF3 | 7 % |
| Social Security4 | 9 % |
| Voluntary Child Support | 1 % |
Source: Trinity Court and Pritchard Park Family Resource Center Database (Sept. 1998)
Within Chapel Hill, 2.5% of the community receive public assistance and 18% receive some form of social security. This does not, however, account for many of the residents who report having no income from any source.
It would be reasonable to expect that the levels of educational attainment be higher in Chapel Hill than in the rest of the state as a whole. The University of North Carolina is accessible to people in Chapel Hill because it is situated at the center of the town. Tuition to attend the University is mandated at the lowest possible cost for state residents in the North Carolina State Constitution. The dropout rate for grades seven through 12 from the 1995 through1996 school year was, in fact, lower in Orange County (2.87) than it is for the state of North Carolina (3.45) (Town of Chapel Hill, 1997). Within the Caucasian population of Chapel Hill, the percentages of people with a Bachelor's Degree and a graduate or professional degree are, in fact, much higher than those same percentages for the state (Table 5).
No data were available specific to Trinity Court or Pritchard Park. However, because the educational achievement for African-Americans in Chapel Hill is lower than for Caucasians, most of the residents of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park will also have less education than Caucasians in Chapel Hill and most have not had the opportunity to attend college.
| North Carolina | Chapel Hill Caucasians | Chapel Hill African-Americans | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 9th Grade | 12.7 % | 2.0 % | 17.0 % |
| 9th to 12th Grade, no diploma | 17.4 % | 1.0 % | 18.5 % |
| High School Graduate | 29.0 % | 5.5% | 19.0 % |
| Some college, no degree | 16.8 % | 11.0 % | 13.5 % |
| Associate Degree | 6.8 % | 3.0 % | 4.5 % |
| Bachelor's Degree | 12.0 % | 35.0 % | 15.0 % |
| Graduate or Professional Degree | 5.4 % | 42.0 % | 13.0 % |
Source: U.S. Census of the Population (1990)
Another example of the difference between the Trinity Court and Pritchard Park communities and Chapel Hill is that only 40% of Trinity Court families and 57% of families in Pritchard Park have a telephone. This is a small yet important detail that impacts daily life. Many residents, especially those with infant or school-aged children, must have a way to contact the police, fire department, or rescue squad, as well as communicate with schoolteachers, health care providers, and other social services. Fortunately for the residents of Trinity Court, there are phones available for the residents to use in the Family Resource Center, during hours of operation.
A difference between Trinity Court and Pritchard Park that is worth noting is that the mean duration of residency among current families is approximately five years in Trinity Court and 12 years in Pritchard Park. Also, there is a difference between the two communities in the distribution of the children's ages who reside there (Table 6). This is an important difference between the two communities that may contribute to the lack of unity between the two groups in addition to the geographical separation. The division between the Trinity Court and Pritchard Park communities is discussed in Chapter Eight: Sense of Community and Reputation.
| Trinity Court | Pritchard Park | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Number (n) | % | Number (n) | % |
| 0 - 5 | 25 | 53 % | 6 | 20 % |
| 6 - 12 | 16 | 34 % | 20 | 67% |
| 13 - 18 | 6 | 13% | 4 | 13% |
Source: Chapel Hill Housing Department (1998)
The data for Trinity Court and Pritchard Park are accurate and current. Yet, the data used on Chapel Hill and North Carolina are from the 1990 U.S. Census of the Population. This creates the potential for misrepresenting the current demographic details of Chapel Hill. However, the purpose of the comparison of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park to Chapel Hill and North Carolina is to show that the two housing communities are very different from the town in which they are situated. The economic struggles of the residents of Trinity Court and Pritchard Park are far more difficult compared to the residents of the town around them. Because of the special needs of the residents as members of the Chapel Hill community, more attention needs to be given to the unique challenges that these residents face.
2These data are from records that were collected in September 1998 from the Chapel Hill Housing Department.
3Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
4Social Security coverage includes retirement, supplement, and disability payments
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Chapter Three: Economic Outlook |
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