The Life of the People where I live is focused on academics and sports! The great educational system is one of the reasons we decided to built our house in our small city. The sport teams in my city that almost always go undefeated. We are a middle class to upper middle class community.
So today, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the makeup of the people where I live and introduce you to some free tools, so you check out your community too.
First, to learn about the life of the people where you live, we need a more objective tool than just what I think, so I’m going to use Prizm from Claritas. It’s a fun tool to see what the major groups are that represent your community based on your zip code.
So after I click the “Prizm from Claritas” link, next I entered my zip code at the prompt, and then enter the security code… I get the following:
- Country Casuals
- Country Squires
- Middleburg Managers
- Sunset City Blues
- Upward Bound
If you click on each designation at their site, it display some basic information about each group. So, for the example, the “Upward Bound” group has a median HH (Household income) of about $86,692. This particular group represent the traditional soccer moms and dads in cities like mine. Below is more information that describes this particular segment of the Upward Bound classification:
Upward Bound
| 2009 Statistics: |
| US Households: 1,998,401 (1.73%) |
| Median HH Income: $86,692 |
| Upscale, Middle Age w/ Kids | |
| More than any other segment, Upward Bound appears to be the home of those legendary Soccer Moms and Dads. In these small satellite cities, upscale families boast dual incomes, college degrees, and new split-levels and colonials. Residents of Upward Bound tend to be kid-obsessed, with heavy purchases of computers, action figures, dolls, board games, bicycles, and camping equipment. |
| Lifestyle Traits |
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| Demographics Traits: | |
| Urbanicity: | Second City |
| Income: | Upscale |
| Income Producing Assets: | Above Avg. |
| Age Ranges: | 35-54 |
| Presence of Kids: | HH w/ Kids |
| Homeownership: | Mostly Owners |
| Employment Levels: | Management |
| Education Levels: | College Grad |
| Ethnic Diversity: | White, Asian, Hispanic, Mix |
This group represents my wife and I fairly well. The biggest exception is that she doesn’t work (at least not full time).
While the PRIZM databases is mainly a marketing tool, I always found the information fascinating, and a good marker to compare both my income and our lifestyle against. Of course, I just checkout the snapshot (which is free). The snapshot provides enough to get a decent picture of the area though.
We’re pretty luck that even though we are in the “Upward Bound” group based on most of the descriptions of the lifestyle, we have friends in higher groups with more (like the power boat, and jet skis, etc), so we get the best of the upper tiers too.
Want even more information about your city? Try https://www.city-data.com/! This site has more details about the city statistics! Include what your firemen and police officers earn (at least my city does).
Hopefully your city ranks well too! Try it out, I’m betting you’ll think it’s pretty cool too!
Tell me what you think or if you have additional links that you use for great demographics about your city!
-MR