Life

What Does Your Zip Code Say About You?

by Catie Keck

In what surely serves as a useful marketing tool for any business looking to target neighborhoods by consumer demographics, big business data analyst Esri has developed an interactive map that summarizes your lifestyle demographic by zip code, AKA it figures out what your zip code says about you. And this data doesn’t fool around. The information, at least from what I can surmise by inputting multiple zips of cities in which I’ve lived, is extensive and interesting. If you could throw a blanket summary on the types of people and industry for every area code, it might look something like this.

The data is pulled from backend research and consolidated into 67 unique market segments. (67 seems like an incredibly small and arbitrary number to speak for the lifestyle habits of 319 million people, but hey, I’m no scientist.) Basically, the map breaks down who we are, how we live, where we shop, and what catches our interest — again, in summary.

So just for funzies, I punched in 11211 to pull stats for everyone’s least favorite hipster hole (spoiler alert: it’s Williamsburg, Brooklyn) to compare notes with what anyone with Internet access probably already knows about the neighborhood’s consumer demographic. The returned results for the zip code query came in at 60 percent “Trendsetters,” 17 percent “Downtown Melting Pot,” and 13 percent “High Rise Renters.” Apparently Williamsburgers idealize that "you're only young once...living life to the fullest, unfettered by home and vehicle ownerships, and not ready to settle down."

Y.O.Y.O. reference noted. Please proceed.

"We're young, educated singles with good jobs who spend our disposable income on upscale city living and entertainment — mostly on rent. Even though we're spenders, we seek financial advice and are building our investment portfolios," it says.

Seems reasonable, considering the ever-skyrocketing rent. Parent subsidizing doesn’t seem to take mention here.

"Dressed head to toe in the most current fashions, we fill our weeknights and weekends with discovering local art and culture, dining out, or exploring new hobbies. We must be connected at all times; texting and social media are essential for communication and keeping up with our social lives. E-readers and tablets are preferred for everything except women's fashion and epicurean magazines which must be in print."

Whoa, slow your roll there Esri before you hit the nail on the head too hard.

"We shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's for quick, organic meals."

[Insert obligatory gentrification snark comment here.]

You can check out your zip code identity here.

Image: branchecarica/Fotolia