They had planned for this, but they couldn’t believe it was
actually true – they were having a girl! Their 2 ½ year old son would have a
sister. They busily made preparations and made sure to keep all of the
“baby” things they had used with their son. The Kleinmans were concerned
because Art had just lost his job, and Esther didn’t work. They had made a
decision that one of them would stay home, and Esther was the one. Now it
looked like they would both be home — for a while. Art and Esther were unsure
how they would keep their home, and they both started to look for work.
How much money does it take per year to raise a family of
four in Virginia? (Hint: there was a study out of UVA about a year ago that had
this data)
What is the average annual salary and the median salary in
Virginia? In Harrisonburg/Rockingham? In Northern Virginia/DC? Which measure
(mean or median) is more useful?
What is the cost of having a child in a hospital? What if a
C-section is necessary – what is the cost for that?
The living wage for the state of Virginia to raise a family of four is $26.72 an hour. The poverty wage for raising a family of four is $9.83. The minimum wage to raise a family of four is $7.25. This is also based on two adults working full time, about 2080 hours a year (Glasmeier, 2012).
ReplyDeleteAccording to the U.S. Department of Commerce (n.d.), the average annual salary per person in Virginia is $45,920 in the year 2011; the average annual salary per person in Rockingham County is $30,451 in the year 2010; and the average annual salary per person in D.C. is $73,105 in the year 2011. For the year 2010, the median salary per household in Virginia is $60,665, the median salary per household in Rockingham County is $49,158, and the median salary per household in D.C is $60,729 (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012).The median is more useful to use because it is less affected by outliers and skewed data. The mean is very sensitive to the most abnormal of values, particularly very high values. The mean is also susceptible to the influence of outliers (Laerd Statistics, 2012).
Data obtained from the Winchester Medical Center claims that, without insurance, the cost of delivering a child by means of natural birth is $6,000, and delivering by means of a C-section is $9,000*. According to data obtained from Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, without insurance, the cost of delivering a child by means of natural birth is $6,000 (also requiring a two day stay) and delivering a child by means of a C-section is $10,000 (also requiring a four day stay)*.
References:
Laerd Statistics. (2012). Measures of central tendency. Retrieved May 18, 2012 from https://statistics.laerd.com/statistical-guides/measures-central-tendency-mean-mode- median.php
Glasmeier, A. K. (2012). Living wage calculation for virginia. Retrieved May 19, 2012 from http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/states/51
United States Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service. (2012). Country- level unemployment and median household income. Retrieved May 18, 2012 from http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/unemployment/RDList2.asp?ST=DC
U.S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of Economic Analysis. (n.d.) GDP & personal income. Retrieved May 18, 2012 from http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1
*Data was obtained from speaking with a representative at the medical centers.