An Inside Look At Analytics In Action > U.S. Census Data

If you are working with American clients or customers, one of the most useful tools any analyst can master is the U.S. Census Data. http://www.census.gov

It is #1 source for current population data and the latest Economic Indicators and is culled from the nationwide census conducted in the US every ten years. The last collection was in 2010. However, the US Census Bureau also collects data from smaller sample sizes every year.

When I was with Wells Fargo, I used census data extensively to help us understand the demographics of targeted markets. I have also used data from the site for building competitive profiles for BPO Elite and DMAI clients.

When you go to the site (www.census.gov), it can be a little overwhelming due to the massive amount of data collected and made available. There are some videos, webinars, in class trainings and lots of learning tools available to master how to make the best use of the data.

For now though, lets focus on one particular demographic data point that I will explain how to find and use. I have a client who wants to know % of households in certain Zip Codes around the Dallas, Texas are that have at least one person over 65-year-old in that household.

Step One is knowing where to go. In this case, we will choose the data menu and then American Fact Finder. As you can see if you view the site… the choices can be quite intimidating to those not used to this site. Type in Dallas County, Texas and you will get access to all kinds of demographic data. In this case we will look at the 2010 US Census. You can see that 8.8% of the population is 65 and over.

For the sake of this blog I wont bore you with details, but then we take that data and we look at it at the zip code level. And then we can see what parts of Dallas County are “older” than others. This will help out client target his marketing efforts since his product is geared towards customers 65+

So if you have a business where you need demographic data for the US, this is the place to go. DMAI is happy to help you find ways to unlock this incredible source of data and empower your business with more analytics intelligence!