2009 U.S. Statistical Abstract

The new 2009 edition of the U.S. Statistical Abstract is now available, in print and electronically. This U.S. Census Bureau publication is arguably the #1 starting point for statistical information of any type. If you remember no other statistical resource, let this be the one. Here's the write-up from the Census Bureau:

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. The latter function is served by the introductory text to each section, the source note appearing below each table, and Appendix I, which comprises the Guide to Sources of Statistics, the Guide to State Statistical Abstracts, and the Guide to Foreign Statistical Abstracts.

A press release included some sample statistics:

... the average length of stay for patients at community hospitals declined from 7.2 days in 1990 to 5.5 days in 2006. Yet over the same period, the average cost per patient stay climbed 81 percent, from $4,947 to $8,970....

Lottery sales increased from $51.6 billion in 2006 to $52.4 billion in 2007, with $29.7 billion in sales for instant scratch-off tickets. (Table 432)....

Violent crime per 100,000 people decreased from a rate of 597 in 1980 to
474 in 2006. The property crime rate in 1990, 5,353 per 100,000, decreased to 3,335 in 2006. (Table 295)....