Super Bowl Sunday: How Much Do You Know about Green Bay and Pittsburgh? 1

Ministers of the gospel need to understand the people to whom they are called to serve.  This matter is nothing new.

One quick way to accomplish this is to understand them demographically.  While there is no substitute for spending time with someone, raw numbers can give you a bird’s-eye view of the community to which you are called to multiply disciples, pastors, and churches.

As you know Super Bowl Sunday is approaching.  So, in light of this news, I thought it would be worth taking a moment to get a bird’s-eye view of Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Arlington.  I know this is not as exciting as a Super Bowl commercial, but what do you expect from Missiologically Thinking–a Pepsi ad?

Super Bowl XLV is scheduled to be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.  In light of this event, the U. S. Census Bureau compiled and sent out a collection of facts examining the demographics of the host city, as well as the cities represented by each team.  The following stats/analysis were taken from Facts for Features.

Green Bay, Wisconsin (Packers)

• 268th

Where Green Bay, Wis., ranked on the list of the nation’s most populous cities. The estimated population of Green Bay on July 1, 2009, was 101,412. Green Bay gained 527 people from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009.

• 19%

Percentage of Green Bay residents 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2009; 85 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28 percent and 85 percent. The percentage in Green Bay who have graduated from high school did not differ significantly from the percentage for Arlington.

• 18 minutes

Average amount of time it took Green Bay residents to get to work. Seventy-eight percent of the city’s workers drove to work alone, 8 percent carpooled and 1 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25 minutes to get to work. The percentage of Green Bay workers who drove to work alone and the percentage taking public transportation were not statistically different from the respective percentages for Arlington. The percentage of Green Bay workers carpooling was not statistically different from the percentage for Pittsburgh.

• 14%

Percentage of Green Bay residents 5 and older who spoke a language other than English at home. The national average was 20 percent.

• $40,857

Median household income for Green Bay. The national median was $50,221. The figure for Green Bay was not statistically different from that for Pittsburgh.

• $129,800

Median home value of owner-occupied homes in Green Bay. The national median was $185,200. The figure for Green Bay did not differ statistically from that for Arlington.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Steelers)

• 61st

Where Pittsburgh ranked on the list of the nation’s most populous cities. The estimated population of Pittsburgh on July 1, 2009, was 311,647. Pittsburgh lost 472 people from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009.

• 33%

Percentage of Pittsburgh residents 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2009; 89 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28 percent and 85 percent.

• 22 minutes

Average amount of time it took Pittsburgh residents to get to work. Fifty-four percent of the city’s workers drove to work alone, 10 percent carpooled and 19 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25 minutes to get to work. The percentage of Pittsburgh residents who carpooled did not differ statistically from the percentage for either Arlington or Green Bay.

• 10%

Percentage of Pittsburgh residents 5 and older who spoke a language other than English at home. The national average was 20 percent.

• $37,461

Median household income for Pittsburgh. The national median was $50,221. The figure for Pittsburgh did not differ statistically from Green Bay.

• $92,500

Median home value of owner-occupied homes in Pittsburgh. The national median was $185,200.

Arlington, Texas (host city)

• 49th

Where Arlington ranked on the list of the nation’s most populous cities. The estimated population of Arlington on July 1, 2009, was 380,085. Arlington gained 5,292 people from July 1, 2008, to July 1, 2009. Arlington is more populous than several cities with NFL franchises, including St. Louis, New Orleans, Tampa, Fla., Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

• 28%

Percentage of Arlington residents 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2009; 83 percent had at least graduated from high school. The respective national figures were 28 percent and 85 percent. The percentage in Arlington who graduated from high school did not differ statistically from Green Bay.

• 26 minutes

Average amount of time it took Arlington residents to get to work, not statistically different from the national figure. Eighty-one percent of the city’s workers drove to work alone, 12 percent carpooled and less than 1 percent took public transportation. Nationally, it took workers an average of 25 minutes to get to work. The percentages in Arlington who drove to work alone and took public transportation did not differ statistically from the respective percentages for Green Bay. The percentage carpooling in Arlington did not differ statistically from that for Pittsburgh.

• 34%

Percentage of Arlington residents 5 and older who spoke a language other than English at home. The national average was 20 percent.

• $50,938

Median household income for Arlington, not statistically different from the national median, which was $50,221.

• $132,200

Median home value of owner-occupied homes in Arlington. The national median was $185,200. The figure for Arlington did not differ statistically from that for Green Bay.

Your Area

What about your community?  Do you know the area demographically?  If not, do your homework.  There is a wealth of available information on-line.  Here are some links to helpful resources found on my other site NorthAmericanMissions.org:  Data Collection, Country and Regional Studies, Map Links, and Urban Ministry/Missions.

Again, the best way to understand your people is to spend time with them.  Now, get together with some of them that don’t know Jesus and watch the game together!  Go Bears!!!!!