Posted by Brian Berg Google+
The face of our nation is changing, and nowhere is the change more evident than in large cities and small, rural towns throughout the nation. Consumer mailing list compililers scramble to keep up with the changing demographics of the nation. Just consider this: Compared with the last century, we are increasingly aging and white on the one hand and young and multi-hued on the other. More and more of us were born in other nations, speak different languages, and carry different cultural traditions with us. Our family structures are changing; many of us marry older while many of us don't marry at all. Some groups of us have many children and some groups have none or few.
Changing patterns of fertility and immigration have put the United States on a short road to a population diversity never before experienced by any nation, a population in which all races and ethnicities are part of minority groups that make up a complex whole. At the same time, the United States faces an aging population of Baby Boomers who are concerned about running out of money before they run out of life, about the increasing cost of health care, and the need for a new definition of "old."
Let’s look at a few key trends in the changing communities and communities within communities in the United States:
We are growing older: In 2010, the median age in the United States had reached 37.2 years of age, up 1.9 years from the 2000 median age of 35.3 years.
We are growing more diverse: Trends in immigration and birth rates indicate that soon there will be no majority racial or ethnic group in the United States, no one group that makes up more than fifty percent of the total population. Already almost one in ten U.S. Counties have a population that is more than fifty percent minority. Eight counties reached that status in 2013, bringing the total to 303 of the nation's 3,141 counties.
We are growing older and more diverse at the same time: Non-Hispanic whites are the oldest; Hispanics are the youngest. Our youngest populations are the most diverse; forty-seven percent of children younger than five belong to a racial or ethnic minority group.
The U.S. population as a whole is growing rapidly: Between 2000 and 2010, the U.S. population grew 9.7 percent from 281.4 million to approximately 308.7 million. This population growth of 25.6 million people in one decade is slightly lower than the 32.7 million growths between 1990 and 2000, which was the biggest census-to-census increase in U.S. history.
The West and South are growing more quickly than the Northeast and Midwest: Between 2000 and 2010, the West's population grew by 14.3 percent and the South's population by 13.8 percent. In contrast, the Midwest grew by 3.9 percent and the Northeast by 3.2 percent.
With so many changes to the demographic make-up to the United States, how can marketers ensure they are targeting the right buying audience through their consumer mailing list selections? The data team at BB Direct can help! Give us a call to discuss all your marketing needs.