Rosaria Nino SOC 352

Oct. 21, 2019

1. I will research St. Augustine, Florida. Although I do not currently live there, it is the
place I resided in the longest. Since living there, the once quaint town has multiplied
greatly in population and development.

2. List the city-level statistics and compare/contrast with the national averages listed
above. What stands out with your specific community data as compared to the U.S.
population?

 Population – 12,975 | National – 308,745,538 (U.S. Census, 2017)

 Median age – 42.6 | National – 37.8 (U.S. Census, 2017)
 Educational attainment – 93.2% | National – 87.3% (U.S. Census, 2017)
 Median household income – 45,884 | National – 57,652 (U.S. Census, 2017)
 Percent of individuals below the poverty level – 21.4% | National – 14.6% (U.S.
Census, 2017)

What stands out to me most with this specific community is the median age. St.
Augustine is a known as a historic district but also a “retirement community”. However, I
don’t feel that people are generally retired by age 43.
Dig into the data further by selecting the 2017 American Community Survey
estimates. Locate the following:
Go to the income page and within the first section on employment status scroll to the
“Civilian labor force Unemployment Rate"; provide the percentage

 Unemployment - 6% | National - 5.3% (U.S. Census, 2017)

3. After analyzing more data on your city, what social issue would you like to focus on
for creating a plan for community change? For this discussion, you only need to
report the social problem you will focus on and why it is a significant issue in your
community (support with data from the Census).

 After analyzing further on the city of St. Augustine, Florida, I have found that the
lack of health insurance is a real problem. The percentage of persons under 65
years of age is 19.7%(U.S. Census, 2017). Having health insurance is important
as it gives you access to needed care to improve/manage health. Additionally,
one of the leading causes of bankruptcy is due to lack of health insurance
(American Heart Association, 2019).

4. At this point, what is your current perspective on the social problem and what you
know about your community? How might you use a conflict or functionalist approach
for explaining why there may be similarities or differences between your city’s data
and the overall U.S. population data?
 Social inequality portrays the nature of healthcare. Individuals from
impeded social foundations are more likely to receive inadequate health
care. Doctors have begun attempting to control the practice of medicine
and define medical problems as social problems. This is relative to that of
the percentage of people living in poverty. Because many states are now
requiring people to have health care plans, the US population with
healthcare is higher than that of the specific location