The GIS report for my area indicates that there are a large number of people who live on social security in my zip code, almost half. It surprised me to read that the median age for these people is 45.8 years old because I always assumed that social security was reserved for people in retirement. I was even more surprised when I learned that many of these people work in service jobs, again going against my assumption that social security was only for people in retirement.
It seems as if their lives are somewhat sad based on the overview given in the report. This indicates they generally live alone in low-rent high-rises around the businesses and city parks on a fixed income and so cannot enjoy many of the things the city has to offer. Instead, they rely on public transportation to get them around and spend much of their spare time watching TV or reading.
The second major segment of the population discussed for my zip code is the one I’m more familiar with. It is the Metro Renters group and is comprised of mostly young 30s single people with a decent income of almost $60,000. While they are also indicated to live alone, it is also mentioned that they might live with roommates and that they travel often and get out to museums, sporting events, concerts, and the parks. They are busy with traveling and surfing the internet, work out often, and are usually very involved in the life of the city. The final large population segment in my area discussed in the article is the foreign immigrant population.
These people have usually come to America within the past 10 years and they are busy getting to know American ways. They spend their time shopping and going to the beach and are also very active in participating in the city’s events. They also travel a lot, mostly to keep in touch with family elsewhere. They are a little older than the metro renters by about 5 years and they generally make a little bit less, about $40,000. All of these people, the metro renters, and the urban melting pot people, generally live in rented apartments.
The stats for the area indicate that there are about 32,000 people living within my zip code. Most of them (41%) are white but white people do not makeup even half of the population. The next largest population is Asian or Pacific Islander at almost 30% while Black and Hispanic are nearly tied at almost 15% and 16% respectively. The remainder of the population is made up of American Indians (1%), ‘other’ races (6%), and mixed races (7%). More than half of the population is male, 70% of the population makes under $50,000 with another 20% making up to $100,000 and 10% making even more than that. The median household income is $29,580 and the average home value is $791,808.
One of the problems that become immediately clear when looking at the stats is that very few people can afford to purchase a home in this district. The average home would cost approximately $5,000 per month while the median income indicates people have only about $2,500 for all of their monthly expenses. If 70% of the population makes less than $50,000 per year, that means at least 70% of the population has less than $4,000 per month for all of their bills, which still puts the average home out of their reach. This is not explicitly stated in the article but is available information for anyone willing to do the math.
The article also does not provide any solutions to the problem, mostly because the main purpose of the article is simply to supply the demographic data available for this area. However, doing the math to understand what the data means a little better indicates that this market is relatively limited in what products they would be interested in purchasing. Major home improvement products, for instance, would probably not sell well in this area while travel products would probably do very well.
Appendix A – GIS Report
The Community Tapestry segmentation system divides U.S. residential areas into 65 segments based on demographic variables and consumer behavior characteristics to provide an accurate and detailed description of America’s neighborhoods.