Above Average

A story on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program about one man's search for the "most-average" American and his eventual arrival in his own home-town started a few things bumping around in my alleged mind. Is there a "most-average" St. Louisan?

It's possible to dig through the reams of figures from the U.S. Census Bureau collected during the 2000 census. The Regional Commerce and Growth Association provides a more recent snapshot of the city, but it is geared more towards the fiscal side of the scales.

The numbers are interesting, but unsatisfying. It's reasonably accurate to say the average St. Louisan is likely to be black (51.2%, U.S. Census 2000), but the odds are almost as good that they would be white (43.8%), of course they could also be Asian (2.0%); hispanic (2.0%); Bosnian, Croation, Tai, Nigerian, etc. (0.8%) or multi-ethnic (1.9%, though I suspect many more people could fall under this category than gets reported).

What do those numbers mean if you hang around the Julia Davis Branch of the St. Louis Public Library versus the Buder Branch; or you happen to grab a Wednesday lunch at St. Raymond's or a bite at one of the Mexican joints on Cherokee.

It's a hard picture to put together if you only have the outlines the figures provide. We want to help fill in between the lines. The story of St. Louis is written in its people and its one we want to tell, its one of the reasons it's listed first in our tag-line. Our new Urban Almanac section will spend a bit more time exploring the communities of St. Louis and provide a view into what is likely the not-so "average" life of the "average" St. Louisan.

Do you consider yourself an "average" St. Louisan?
Matthew