Tea or Coffee? Land Line or Cellphone? Hogs or Humans? Census Has Answers

The Census Bureau’s 2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States, released this month, combines information from government agencies and private organizations and is available both online and in a hefty 1,400-page print edition.

The abstract includes 18 new tables, including one on sexual orientation, with heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and “something else” categories (2.8 percent of men and 4.6 percent of women 18 to 44 describe themselves as gay or bisexual). Another table lists arrests by race (blacks, who represent less than 13 percent of the population, outnumbered whites arrested for murder, robbery and “suspicion” in 2009). The statistics are presented as is, with little context and no analysis, leaving it to outside experts to supply explanations. A record 26.6 million households do not use land lines but rely only on cellphones.