News in Numbers
The growth in Amtrak ridership from 1997 to 2012, making it the fastest growing mode of transportation during that period.
The amount state and local governments have borrowed over the past decade to fund infrastructure investments, using tax-exempt bonds.
The expected cut in the number of meals served to seniors through state-administered nutrition programs under sequestration.
The number of times the word "education" was mentioned -- which was more than any other -- in State of the State speeches this year by 47 governors. View which other words were uttered most often.
The average 911 response time in Pontiac, Mich., compared to an hour before the police department was disbanded in favor of a contract with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. The change by the city's emergency financial manager is saving it more than $2 million a year.
The average federal tax refund in Connecticut, which was the most of any other state in 2011. View refund data for every state.
The rise in armed robberies of drug stores between 2006 and 2010, according to Drug Enforcement Administration estimates.
The time it took Mississippi to ratify the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. It became the last state to do so this month after the movie "Lincoln" inspired a professor to look into why it had not.
The number of states plus the District of Columbia that have opted to run their own health insurance exchange. Twenty-five states are letting the federal government run theirs and eight want state-fed partnership exchanges.
The number of online K-12 students in the state of Florida, which has more than any other state.
The new age, as of January 2014, that children in foster care will get Medicaid coverage until under the Affordable Care Act. Currently, foster care kids lose Medicaid coverage when they turn 18.
The provisional rate of marriages per 1,000 people performed in Nevada in 2010 -- by far the most of any other state. Mississippi had the lowest marriage rate that year.
The amount of money Texas has spent since 1992 compensating innocent people who were imprisoned. Texas pays more than any other state to the wrongfully convicted and a recently introduced bill would raise the rates even more.
The portion of legal Hispanic immigrants who were eligible for citizenship in 2011 but chose not to seek it because they don't want to become U.S. citizens, according to a new Pew Center study.
The portion of Americans born to immigrant parents with at least a bachelor’s degree, which surpasses the rate of college-educated Americans as a whole, according to a recent Pew report.
The decline in Americans' spending on reading materials (both digital and print) since 2000. Meanwhile, spending on other forms of entertainment has increased 25 percent.
The number of compounding pharmacies in Massachusetts that passed surprise state inspections, which began in October after health officials linked tainted steroids from a Framingham pharmacy to a meningitis outbreak that left nearly 700 people ill and 45 people dead.
The proportion of parliamentary seats held by women in Rwanda in 2012, the highest rate in the world, according to the World Bank. The global average was 20.5 percent. In the United States, women account for 17 percent of federal lawmakers and 23 percent of state legislators.
The amount of money Illinois lawmakers approved last year to keep Sears Holdings Corp. in the state after other states courted the retailer. It was one of the largest incentive packages a state has given a company.
The budget proposed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott, which is the largest in state history.
The number of overdoses prevented in 2010 by Insite, a facility in Vancouver, that provides drug addicts a safe place to use illegal substances under the supervision of medical professionals. No users have ever died at the facility which has been in operation since 2003.
The additional time that federal judges are giving California to reduce its inmate population to the court-ordered level. Gov. Jerry Brown recently said the state can't release any more prisoners without putting the public at risk.
The portion of items that Tennessee wrongly reimbursed filmmakers on location in the state for. It represents $25 million in misused movie incentives.
The portion of health insurance applications in Montana that are denied, which is the highest rejection rate in the nation, according to an insurance industry group's analysis. View rejection rates for every state.
The number of cities that received "Fs" for their transparency efforts, according to criteria created and measured by U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The study is the first to assess local government transparency.
The number of localities that have sought bankruptcy protection over the past five years. View totals and municipal bankruptcy laws for each state.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has proposed the state enact its first sales tax on clothing -- but only items that cost more than $100.
The portion of students in the United States who graduated from high school on time in 2010 -- the highest rate since 1976.
The portion of public schools set to close in the District of Columbia, in response to low enrollment and growing competition from charter schools. Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee already closed 23 schools in 2008.
The number of states that don't have laws protecting "lifestyle discrimination" in the workplace; some of them have state or local government bans on hiring public employees who use tobacco products.
