Jewish population smaller, older

NEW YORK - This is the American Jewish world, by the numbers, as revealed in the just-released National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001:

The Jewish population now stands at 5.2 million, down 5.45 percent from 5.5 million in 1990.
Jews represent 2 percent of the general U.S. population, which stands at 288 million, an increase of 33 million from 1990.
The Jewish population resides in 2.9 million Jewish households, with a total of 6.7 million people in all those households.

Among the key findings released on Oct. 8:

Age:

The median age of U.S. Jews is 41, up from 37 in 1990, and in contrast to the median age of 35 in the general U.S. population.
19 percent are age 65 and older, up from 15 percent in 1990, and compared with 12 percent in the general population.
19 percent are age 17 and younger, down from 21 percent in 1990, and compared with 26 percent in the general population.

Birth:
Jewish women approaching the end of their childbearing years, aged 40-44, have an average of 1.8 children, which is below the replacement level of 2.1.
52 percent of Jewish women aged 30-34 have no children, compared with 42 percent in 1990 and 27 percent among the general population in 2000.

Income:
$50,000 is the median income among Jews, compared with $42,000 among non-Jews.
19 percent of U.S. Jews are defined as low income, earning $25,000 annually or less, compared with 29 percent of non-Jews.