What percentage of the population did Grant Wood, a famous artist represent?
I mean this in 2 ways: what percentage of the population during the
1930's did artists represent?, and what percentage of the population
did Grant Wood represent by his sarary and income?

Dear candygurl,

It was not easy to find the number of artists in the USA in the given
period, but I finally managed to get them in old Census documents.

First, here is a calculation of what percentage of the US population
an artist would have represented in 1930, based upon figures from the
1940 Census.

-- Total Population of the Continental USA, 1930 --

122,775,046
(1940 Census Statistical Abstract, p. 2)


-- Total Adult Population (21 Years and over), 1930 --

72,943,624
(1940 Census Statistical Abstract, p. 36)


-- Artists, Sculptors and Teachers of Art, 1930 --

- Male: 35,621
- Female: 21, 644
- Total: 57,265
(1940 Census Statistical Abstract, p. 69)

57,265 individuals equal approximately 0.0466% of the total
population, or 0,079% of the adult population. Those are the
percentages of the population Grant Wood would represent as an artist.


As for the question what percentage of the US population was
represented by Grant Wood's income level: Unfortunately, the artist's
income is not available in online sources. However, I have the US
income statistics for 1935/36. If you could provide me the painter's
income, I could calculate what percentage of the population shared a
similar income level. Otherwise, I could give you the income
statistics (or the parts of it you consider relevant), so you can use
them for your research.

I hope that the part of the answer I could already provide is useful
for yoi. Please let me know how you'd like me to proceed.

Best regards,
Scriptor




Sources:

U.S. Census Bureau: Statistical Abstracts 1901-1950
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab1901-1950.htm

U.S. Census Bureau: 1940 Census (PDF file, Zip compression format)
http://www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/1940.zip

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Request for Answer Clarification by candygurl-ga on 18 Sep 2005 09:13 PDT

thanks for you help! Ive been calculating his salary and income from a
book I have about Grant Wood. During the 1930's his income was about
$25,995. His approximate average yearly income would be $2,888.33.
These calculations are based on 1930-1939. So based on the approximate
calculations I have found could you help me find the the population
Grant Wood represented based on his income level.

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 18 Sep 2005 11:03 PDT

Dear candygurl,

An average annual income of $2,888.33 would fall in the category of
single individuals with an income of $2500-$3000. The 1940 Census uses
an 1935/36 income levels table derived from data collected by the
Bureau of Home Economics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According
to the figures from that table, the group of single individuals with
an annual income of $2500-$3000 included 161,275 persons.
The total number of families and single individuals with an annual
income of $2500-$3000 was 1,475,474 in 1935/36.

So with focus on individuals, persons earning $2500-$3000 per year
represented 0.13% of the total US population, or 0.22% of the adult
population (21 years of age and over).

Figures:
1940 Census Statistical Abstract, p. 316

Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Scriptor