Dissecting Dorchester's Demographic Data

For years, many of us have heard that our community needs more young families with good incomes. So we asked ourselves: How does Dorchester compare to surrounding communities when it comes to residents' ages, family sizes and income levels?

We examined Dorchester's household data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and compared the figures to those from nearby towns. Although the most recent census data is already more than a few years old, we believe these figures are still worth a look.

In 2000, Dorchester had 248 households -- of which only about 33% had children under the age of 18. About 25% of households were non-families; 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals; and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 2.9, the same as Friend. In Milford and Wilber, the average family size was 3.0; in Crete, it was 3.13.

Dorchester's population was spread out with 25% under the age of 18; nearly 8% were from 18 to 24, 28.6% were from 25 to 44; just over 20% were from 45 to 64; and and 18% were 65 years of age or older. The median age in Dorchester was 38 years old, the same as Wilber. In Crete, the median age was 30 years; in Milford, it was 28. But in Friend, it was 44 years old, clearly the oldest population in the area.

The median income for a household in Dorcheter was $34,000, and the median income for a family was $40,982. That is comparable to Friend, where the median family income was $40,667. Dorchester was also similar to Crete in this category, which had a median family income of $43,295. But both Milford and Wilber had noticeably higher family incomes than our village. In Milford, the median income for a family was $51,012. In Wilber, the number was $45,556 for family income.