Notable numbers: Competitve Senate races, NC employment and Clinton the socialist
Notable numbers
Statistics from the past week that deserve a doubletake
30 The percentage of America’s workforce that earns a near-minimum-wage salary
$14.68 How much a worker in North Carolina needs to earn per hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment
$19.35 How much the average American needs to earn per hour to rent a two-bedroom unit
$17.09 The median hourly wage of the average American worker
1 Where North Carolina ranks in the most competitive Senate races over the past 25 years
8 The number out of the nine Senate elections since 1990 that were won by single-digit leads, more than any other state
6.1 The average margin of victory in those North Carolina races
40.4 The average victory margin in Wyoming, the least competitive state
1974 The year of the last uncompetitive Senate race in North Carolina when Democratic State Attorney General Robert Morgan won an open seat race against furniture executive Bill Stevens
75 The number of North Carolina counties that still have fewer employed persons than they did in 2007
7,926 The fewer number of workers Robeson County has now than it did in 2007
73,958 The number more workers Mecklenburg County has now than it did in 2007
9.5 The poverty rate in Camden County in 2013, the lowest in North Carolina
34.1 The poverty rate in Scotland County, the highest
95 The graduation rate for Avery County in 2014, the highest in North Carolina
70.7 The rate in Northampton County, the lowest
81.7 The average life expectancy for a child born in Orange County, the highest in North Carolina
73.1 The average life expectancy for a child born in Swain County, the lowest
93 The percentage of the time Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and socialist Bernie Sanders voted the same way the two years they shared in the Senate
This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Notable numbers: Competitve Senate races, NC employment and Clinton the socialist."