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2025-01-30 21:11:03

The Most Affordable ZIP Codes in Each U.S. State

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The cost of renting is anything but uniform—shaped by geography, neighborhood trends, and even the quirks of a few city blocks. What’s affordable in one part of town might be out of reach just a short walk away.

This map, created by NeoMam Studios for CashNetUSA, visualizes the most affordable ZIP codes to rent across America.

NeoMam Studios compared the average household incomes and annual rent costs in each ZIP code using U.S. Census data and Zillow’s Observed Rent Index (ZORI). ZIP codes were ranked by affordability, the most affordable being the ZIP codes with the lowest rental costs as a percentage of local incomes.

Figures below 30% of gross income were considered as the standard affordable rent outlay defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Which ZIP Codes Are the Most Affordable?

Below, we show each state’s most affordable ZIP code, the ZIP code’s location, and its average annual rent (from ZORI) as a share of local median household income.

The average rent in Leawood 66224, Kansas, costs 10.57% of the local average income—the most affordable rent level of any U.S. ZIP code.

The 66224 ZIP code is right at the border of Kansas and Missouri, and just a couple of ZIP codes south of Leawood 66211, home to Kansas’ priciest residential real estate.

Midland, Texas, has the highest proportion of affordable housing against local incomes, with 97.5% of rentals available below 30% of the local average income.

Several ZIP codes within major metropolitan areas ranked as the most affordable in their states, including Portland (97221) in Oregon and Pittsburgh (15228) in Pennsylvania.

Over on the West Coast, Los Angeles doesn’t have a single ZIP code where the average home is affordable to rent, according to the 30% rule.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about housing affordability in the U.S., check out this graphic that visualizes median house prices in the U.S.

The post Mapped: The Most Affordable ZIP Code for Renters by State appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-01-30 20:18:11

Mapped: The Most Popular Languages to Learn by Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Across the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, just five languages command roughly half of the global population.

With 1.5 billion speakers, English is spoken more than any other language, followed by Mandarin (1.2 billion), and Hindi (610 million). Given its prevalence in business and political spheres, it continues to be the most sought-after language to learn today even as proficiency in China, Japan, and South Korea has declined in recent years.

This graphic from NeoMam Studios shows the most popular languages to learn in 2024, based on data from Word.Tips.

Global Language Learning Trends

For the rankings, monthly Google search volumes were analyzed across countries based on “Study X language” or “Learn X language”. These phrases were translated across 119 of the most-spoken languages globally.

Each language was ranked according to their search volume as of May 2024, shown in the table below:

Country	Most Popular Language	Second Most Popular Language
Algeria	Arabic	French
Bahrain	Arabic	German
Egypt	Arabic	English
Iraq	Arabic	English
Jordan	Arabic	German
Kuwait	Arabic	German
Lebanon	Arabic	English
Libya	Arabic	English
Morocco	Arabic	English
Oman	Arabic	English
Palestine	Arabic	English
Qatar	Arabic	English
Saudi Arabia	Arabic	Chinese
Uganda	Arabic	Bengali
United Arab Emirates	Arabic	German
Guyana	Chinese	Spanish
Hong Kong	Chinese	Spanish
Laos	Chinese	English
Taiwan	Chinese	Minnan
Venezuela	Chinese	Russian
Afghanistan	English	Farsi
Angola	English	French
Armenia	English	German
Austria	English	Italian
Azerbaijan	English	Russian
Belarus	English	Russian
Benin	English	German
Bolivia	English	Japanese
Brazil	English	Spanish
Bulgaria	English	German
Cambodia	English	Chinese
Cameroon	English	German
Colombia	English	Italian
Costa Rica	English	Spanish
Cote D'Ivoire	English	Arabic
Democratic Republic of the Congo	English	Swahili
Ecuador	English	Italian
El Salvador	English	Italian
Estonia	English	German
Ethiopia	English	Arabic
Finland	English	Ukrainian
France	English	Spanish
Georgia	English	German
Germany	English	Spanish
Guatemala	English	Spanish
Honduras	English	Russian
Hungary	English	German
Indonesia	English	Arabic
Israel	English	Arabic
Italy	English	Italian
Jamaica	English	Chinese
Japan	English	Korean
Kazakhstan	English	Russian
Kyrgyzstan	English	German
Latvia	English	German
Mauritius	English	German
Mexico	English	Spanish
Moldova	English	Italian
Montenegro	English	German
Mozambique	English	French
Nicaragua	English	Russian
Nigeria	English	Hausa
Pakistan	English	Korean
Paraguay	English	Portuguese
Peru	English	Italian
Poland	English	Polish
Portugal	English	Portuguese
Republic of the Congo	English	Chinese
Romania	English	German
Rwanda	English	German
Senegal	English	Arabic
Somalia	English	Arabic
Sweden	English	Thai
Tanzania	English	Swahili
Thailand	English	Chinese
Tunisia	English	Arabic
Turkey	English	Polish
Turkmenistan	English	Russian
Ukraine	English	Ukrainian
United Kingdom	English	Spanish
Uzbekistan	English	Russian
Vietnam	English	Chinese
Zambia	English	German
Philippines	Filipino	Korean
Bahamas	French	Spanish
Botswana	French	German
Canada	French	Japanese
Netherlands	French	English
Albania	German	English
Bosnia and Herzegovina	German	English
Croatia	German	Arabic
Cyprus	German	English
Denmark	German	Spanish
Ghana	German	English
Greece	German	English
Kenya	German	French
Luxembourg	German	French
Malta	German	English
Namibia	German	Portuguese
North Macedonia	German	English
Serbia	German	French
Slovakia	German	English
Slovenia	German	Japanese
Zimbabwe	German	English
Fiji	Hindi	Chinese
Argentina	Italian	English
Chile	Italian	Korean
Switzerland	Italian	English
Uruguay	Italian	Spanish
Australia	Japanese	Spanish
South Korea	Japanese	English
Bangladesh	Korean	Bengali
Bhutan	Korean	Chinese
Brunei	Korean	Malayalam
India	Korean	English
Mongolia	Korean	German
Myanmar	Korean	Japanese
Nepal	Korean	Japanese
Singapore	Korean	Chinese
Sri Lanka	Korean	English
Malaysia	Malayalam	English
Lithuania	Russian	English
Russia	Russian	English
Belgium	Spanish	Arabic
Czech Republic	Spanish	Polish
Dominican Republic	Spanish	English
Iceland	Spanish	German
Ireland	Spanish	French
New Zealand	Spanish	Filipino
Norway	Spanish	Urdu
Panama	Spanish	English
Puerto Rico	Spanish	Arabic
Spain	Spanish	English
Trinidad and Tobago	Spanish	Arabic
United States	Spanish	Japanese
South Africa	Zulu	Swahili

Overall, English is the most desired language to learn in 63 countries, dropping substantially from 98 countries in 2021.

Due to shifting geopolitical dynamics, English proficiency is falling across East Asia. For instance, China ranked 91st out of 116 countries on English proficiency compared to ranking 38th four years earlier. Despite this, English is the most popular language people want to learn across virtually every global region.

Ranking in second is German, driven by its popularity in European nations including Greece, Denmark, and Croatia. While it falls behind English by a wide margin, it stands as the most sought-after language to learn in 16 countries likely due to Germany being the world’s third-largest economy.

Arabic follows next in line, being the top language in 15 countries mostly found in the Middle East. Since 2021, this number has grown by more than double as countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt witnessed strong search volumes. Globally, Arabic is the sixth-most common language, with 274 million speakers around the world.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on the 12 most spoken languages globally.

The post Mapped: The Most Popular Languages to Learn by Country appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-01-30 03:47:42

Charted: All U.S., Russian, and Chinese Leaders Since 1975

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This graphic tracks America’s, Russia’s, and China’s government leaders since 1975 using data from Britannica.

Only one of these countries is a functioning democracy—though all three hold some form of elections. Thus, this graphic is not a comparison but serves as a look back through history.

Regime Changes in America, Russia, And China

Since 1975, the U.S. has had eight different presidents. In that same time, Russia has had six leaders, and China four.

Year	U.S.	Russia / Societ Union Pre-1991	China
2025	Donald Trump	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2024	Joe Biden	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2023	Joe Biden	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2022	Joe Biden	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2021	Joe Biden	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2020	Donald Trump	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2019	Donald Trump	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2018	Donald Trump	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2017	Donald Trump	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2016	Barack Obama	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2015	Barack Obama	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2014	Barack Obama	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2013	Barack Obama	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2012	Barack Obama	Vladimir Putin	Xi Jinping
2011	Barack Obama	Dmitry Medvedev	Hu Jintao
2010	Barack Obama	Dmitry Medvedev	Hu Jintao
2009	Barack Obama	Dmitry Medvedev	Hu Jintao
2008	George W. Bush	Dmitry Medvedev	Hu Jintao
2007	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2006	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2005	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2004	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2003	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2002	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Hu Jintao
2001	George W. Bush	Vladimir Putin	Jiang Zemin
2000	Bill Clinton	Vladimir Putin	Jiang Zemin
1999	Bill Clinton	Vladimir Putin	Jiang Zemin
1998	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1997	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1996	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1995	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1994	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1993	Bill Clinton	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1992	George H. W. Bush	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1991	George H. W. Bush	Boris Yeltsin	Jiang Zemin
1990	George H. W. Bush	Mikhail Gorbachev	Jiang Zemin
1989	George H. W. Bush	Mikhail Gorbachev	Jiang Zemin
1988	Ronald Reagan	Mikhail Gorbachev	Deng Xiaoping
1987	Ronald Reagan	Mikhail Gorbachev	Deng Xiaoping
1986	Ronald Reagan	Mikhail Gorbachev	Deng Xiaoping
1985	Ronald Reagan	Mikhail Gorbachev	Deng Xiaoping
1984	Ronald Reagan	Konstantin Chernenko	Deng Xiaoping
1983	Ronald Reagan	Yuri Andropov	Deng Xiaoping
1982	Ronald Reagan	Yuri Andropov	Deng Xiaoping
1981	Ronald Reagan	Leonid Brezhnev	Deng Xiaoping
1980	Jimmy Carter	Leonid Brezhnev	Deng Xiaoping
1979	Jimmy Carter	Leonid Brezhnev	Deng Xiaoping
1978	Jimmy Carter	Leonid Brezhnev	Deng Xiaoping
1977	Jimmy Carter	Leonid Brezhnev	Hua Guofeng
1976	Gerald Ford	Leonid Brezhnev	Hua Guofeng
1975	Gerald Ford	Leonid Brezhnev	Mao Zedong

From this graphic, we can see that POTUS has regularly shifted back and forth between the Democrat and Republican parties. For reference, U.S. presidents cannot serve for more than two elected terms.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the highest office became the president of Russia. The Russian president is elected by popular vote to a six-year term, with a term limit of two consecutive terms.

Amendments made in 2020 have exempted Vladimir Putin from being term-limited by excluding his previous terms.

Meanwhile, in China, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has functioned as the nation’s most powerful position since the late 1980s. Chosen through internal party processes, the General Secretary serves a five-year term with no limit on reelection. The individual holding this office also becomes China’s president (the head of state), a role once considered more ceremonial.

China’s current president is Xi Jinping who has held the position since 2013. He is serving his third term after constitutional changes in 2018 removed presidential term limits. Under his presidency, China has strengthened its global influence, economy, and centralized governance within the country.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Political leaning affects perceptions of parts of the American economy. Check out Democrats vs Republicans: Opinions on U.S. Industries to see where they diverge.

The post Charted: All U.S., Russian, and Chinese Leaders Since 1975 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-01-30 02:21:45

Mapping Inflation Across America

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In December 2024, U.S. annual inflation stood at 2.9%, surpassing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

This marked an increase from 2.7% in November, driven by rising costs in key categories like housing and energy.

However, inflation usually varies heavily by location. This graphic visualizes the CPI inflation (change in consumer prices) from December 2023 to December 2024 by U.S. region and select metropolitan areas.

Data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is updated as of January 2025.

City inflation figures are for their metropolitan statistical area, which is made up of one or more counties that contain a city of 50,000 or more inhabitants.

Which U.S. Region Experienced The Highest Inflation in 2024?

In 2024, inflation varied significantly across U.S. regions, with the Northeast experiencing the highest rate at 3.5% and the West seeing the lowest at 2.5%.

The Northeast, with its higher population density and reliance on imported energy, faced steeper price increases, particularly in housing (5.2%) and utilities (7.1%).

The New York metropolitan area, which includes New York, Newark, and Jersey City, recorded the highest annual CPI inflation out of these major metropolitan areas at 4.3%, 1.4 percentage points higher than the U.S. average.

Similarly to the rest of its region, New Yorkers faced the sharpest year-over-year price jumps in fuels and utilities (10.5%) and housing (6%) compared to December 2023.

Houston recorded the lowest inflation rate among major metro areas at 1.0%, driven primarily by differences in housing costs.

While housing expenses rose 4.1% nationwide since December 2023, they increased by just 0.4% in Houston.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about economic indicators by U.S. area, check out this graphic that visualizes the 10 states with the lowest real GDP growth in 2023.

The post Mapped: Annual Inflation Rate by U.S. Region appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-01-29 23:41:53

Mapped: The World’s Countries, by Income Group

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Globally, the share of low income countries has declined significantly over the past quarter century, dropping from 30.7% in 2000 to just 11.9% today.

China transitioned out of a low income country in 1999 and, by 2010, had achieved upper middle-income status, a position it continues to hold. Similarly, India, which was a low income country two decades ago, has grown into a middle income country driven by rapid economic growth.

This graphic shows countries by gross national income (GNI) per capita, based on data from the World Bank.

Breaking Down Countries by Income Classification

For country income classifications, the World Bank used GNI per capita, which includes all income earned by a country’s residents and businesses, both domestically and abroad .

Below, we show how 218 countries worldwide fall into each income category:

For 2025 the classification uses 2023 GNI per capita. Data for Venezuela as of 2021.

Today, 86 countries are considered high income, amounting to 39.4% of the share of countries worldwide.

Since 2000, this share has risen notably from 25.4% of the global total. In Europe, the former Eastern Bloc countries of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia transitioned into high income countries supported by market reforms and income growth.

Meanwhile, Chile and Uruguay ascended to high income status driven by a 2000s commodities boom and rising GDP per capita. Chile stands as the world’s largest copper producer and the second largest producer of lithium.

In Asia, South Korea’s economic rise stemmed from vast exports to China and specialization in key industries. Over the past 25 years, it is among the few countries in the region to overcome the ‘middle-income trap’.

A Closer Look at Income Classification by Region

When looking at income classification from a regional perspective, we can see that high income countries are becoming more prevalent across key regions:

Overall, 42.9% of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are high income, mostly found across island nations.

In the Middle East, oil-rich nations of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have among the highest GDP per capita in the region. Notably, Saudi Arabia emerged as the region’s first trillion-dollar economy fueled by massive oil reserves and government initiatives.

By contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the lowest share of wealthy countries, yet growth in key countries has been promising. In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa was home to nine of the top 20 fastest-growing economies including Niger, Senegal, and Libya.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from a U.S.-based perspective, check out this graphic on GDP per capita by state.

The post Mapped: All of the World’s Countries, by Income Group appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

2025-01-29 21:14:43

How Generations Will Shape the Workforce by 2035

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The year 2025 marks the start of a new generation: the Betas. This group will include everyone born over the next 15 years.

In this graphic, we compare the current workforce with the projected workforce by 2035, broken down by generation, based on data from McCrindle as of May 2024.

Baby Boomers Will Fully Exit the Workforce

Baby Boomers (ages 61-79), who comprise 20% of the U.S. population and own half of the country’s net wealth, will be virtually out of the workforce by 2035.

Gen Z (ages 16-30) and younger generations are projected to make up half of the workforce within the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, Generation Alpha (15 and younger) is expected to grow rapidly, reaching 19% of the workforce by 2035. This generation is also projected to surpass Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z in size, with a population of more than 2 billion, making it the largest generation in history.

Generations Defined

For this analysis, McCrindle examines the following cohorts, each adhering to a 15-year pattern:

• Baby Boomers (1946-1964, age 61-79): Born during the post-WWII baby boom, they drove major cultural, social, and economic shifts.
• Generation X (1965-1979, age 46-60): Known for embracing entrepreneurship, anti-establishment movements, and economic prosperity.
• Millennials (1980-1994, age 31-45): Also referred to as Generation Y, they are known for their tech-savviness, social consciousness, and a shift away from traditional goals like homeownership.
• Generation Z (1995-2009, age 16-30): The first generation to grow up with smartphones, social media, and constant internet access from a young age.
• Generation Alpha (2010-2024, age 15 and younger): The children of Millennials, growing up in a highly digital, tech-driven world.
• Gen Beta (2025-2039, 1-not born yet): The generation just beginning, born into a world of rapid technological and environmental change.

Learn More on the Voronoi App 

If you enjoyed this topic, check out this graphic that shows the distribution of wealth in the United States from 1990 to 2023 by generation.

The post Charted: How Generations Will Shape the Workforce by 2035 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.