See more from the U.S. Census Bureau
This festive season, or simply the holidays, is a time for gathering and celebrating with family and friends, gift-giving, reflection and thanks. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its collection of statistics.
Shop ‘Til You Drop
$22.7 billion: The estimated retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2016. A decrease of $1.0 billion in retail sales from December of the previous year. (Monthly Retail Trade Survey)
19.7%: The estimated percentage for total sales in December 2016 for jewelry stores. (Monthly Retail Trade Survey)
18.9%: The December sales accounted for hobby, toy and game stores in 2016. (Monthly Retail Trade Survey)
$61.4 Billion: The estimated value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2016 — an increase of 9.8 percent from the previous year and the highest estimated total for any month last year. (Monthly Retail Trade Survey)
Where Toys Are Made
572: The number of locations nationwide that primarily produced dolls, toys and games in 2015, an increase of 12 locations from 2014 (560); they employed 6,394 workers in the pay period including March 12, an increase of 179 employees from 2014 (6,215). California led the nation with 90 establishments. (2015 County Business Patterns)
Holiday Names
Some names of places associated with the holiday season consist of a dozen places named Holly, including Mount Holly, N.C. (population 14,495), and Holly Springs, Miss. (7,682). There is Snowflake, Ariz. (5,764); Santa Claus, Ind. (2,463); North Pole, Alaska (2,232); Noel, Mo. (1,816); and — if you know about reindeer — Dasher, Ga. (979), and Rudolph, Wis. (430). There is also Unity, Ore. (68). (Vintage 2016 Population Estimates)