10 Random Facts From Census Bureau's Statistical Abstract of the US

WASHINGTON -- New Hampshire has the smallest percentage of poor people of any state, and West Virginia does the best job of raking in lottery revenue. Those are just two of the superlatives scattered inside the federal government's brand-new compendium of information -- both vital and trivial -- released today in the form of the 130th edition of the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

This year's abstract, published by the Census Bureau, contains 1,407 tables of the latest available social, political and economic facts about the nation and the world. New this year: statistics on U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions, honeybee colonies, organic farming, home schooling and crashes involving distracted drivers.

The cotton gin in Midnight, Mississippi, is rarely used anymore as the cotton industry in the Mississippi Delta has collapsed. (Shashank Bengali, MCT)

Shashank Bengali, MCT

The cotton gin in Midnight, Miss., is rarely used, as the cotton industry in the area has collapsed. The state has the largest percentage of people below the poverty level.

So here, in no particular order, are 10 random facts you may or may not need to know about our country:

4.9 percent of Americans attended a Latin or salsa music concert and 7.8 percent went to a jazz performance in 2008, far more than went to the ballet (2.9 percent) or opera (2.1 percent).
Americans are expected to spend $44.20 on newspapers this year, down from $53.59 in 2003. Over the same period, per capita spending on video games will rise to $90.59 from $34.65.
The nation has nearly 105,000 shopping centers.
100,414 people visited emergency rooms for injuries associated with crutches, canes and walkers.
Mississippi had the largest percentage of people -- 21.2 -- below the poverty level of any state in 2008; New Hampshire had 7.6 percent under the poverty level.
West Virginia collected the most in lottery revenue of any state in fiscal 2007, taking in $75.9 billion.
Raleigh-Cary, N.C., had the highest population increase of the 50 largest metro areas in 2009, growing by 41 percent.
In the 2008 presidential election, 58 percent of the voting-age population cast a ballot, with two states along the Canadian border -- Minnesota and Maine -- topping 70 percent participation.
Nationally, 76 percent of workers drove alone to their jobs in 2008, with 11 percent carpooling and 5 percent taking public transportation. More than one in four New Yorkers, however, used mass transit, with just 54 percent driving solo and 8 percent carpooling.
Federal civilian employees in 2009 numbered 2.8 million, or 2 percent of the working population. That's down from a 1989 high of 3.1 million workers, or 2.67 percent of the work force.