Demografics: free US Census trade-area reports for retail site selection

What Demografics does

Choosing where to open a store usually starts with one question: who lives around this location? Demografics answers it for any US address. It takes the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which publishes detailed figures for about 85,000 small areas called census tracts, finds every tract inside the radius you choose, and combines them into one report for your trade area.

• People: total population, density, age groups, race and ethnicity.
• Spending power: median household income and the full income distribution, from under $25,000 to $200,000 and above.
• Housing: the share of homes that are rented vs owned.
• Work: the industries residents are employed in.
• Growth: five-year population and income change for the county.
• Competition: nearby businesses of your type from Google Places, with distance and ratings.

How it works

1. Enter an address, ZIP code or city and pick a trade radius.
2. Demografics finds the census tracts inside the circle and adds up their Census figures. Medians are combined as household- or population-weighted averages, a standard approximation.
3. You get the report, a rule-based fit check for eight kinds of business (prepaid wireless, cafes, tech, boutiques, grocery, restaurants, gyms and co-working), and a count of nearby competitors.

Every step is documented, including the limits: census data counts residents rather than daytime visitors, and survey estimates have margins of error. Read how Demografics calculates trade-area demographics, or see a full sample report for a real address.

Tools

• Site Scoring and full reports for any single address.
• Site Compare: two to four addresses side by side.
• Rival Saturation: the actual competitors around an address.
• White Space and Cricket Expansion finders: scan a whole city for areas with a strong customer profile and few competitors.
• Rollout Planner: group a city's best locations into opening phases.
• AI Advisor: ask a question about a place and get an answer written from the real figures.

Data studies

Original analysis of Census data across major US cities and metros, with every figure calculated from the data and the method explained:

• Who Lives Within 3 Miles of Downtown? Census Profiles of 25 Major US Cities
  Population, income, age and renters within 3 miles of City Hall in the principal cities of the 25 largest US metros, from US Census ACS 2018–2022 data. Populations range from 66,046 to 965,199.
• 1, 3 or 5 Miles? How a Trade Radius Changes the Picture in 25 US Downtowns
  Measured with US Census data: moving from a 1-mile to a 5-mile radius around downtown multiplies the population by anywhere from 6.4x to 36.8x, and median income can move sharply in either direction.
• Is Downtown Richer or Poorer Than the Metro? Income in 25 US Cities Compared
  In 12 of 25 large US cities, households within 3 miles of City Hall have a higher median income than the metro area as a whole. Census data for 25 downtowns.
• Where Young Adults Live: The 18–34 Share in the 50 Largest US Metros and 25 Downtowns
  Adults aged 18–34 make up between 21.1% and 26.8% of the population in the 50 largest US metros, and a larger share of all 25 downtowns we measured. US Census ACS 2018–2022 data.
• Renters vs Owners: Housing Tenure in the 50 Largest US Metros and Their Downtowns
  Renter-occupied homes range from 29% to 51% across the 50 largest US metros, and all 25 downtowns we measured are renter-majority. Census ACS 2018–2022 data.
• Which Large US Metros Grew? Population and Income Change Between Two Census Surveys
  Comparing ACS 2013–2017 with 2018–2022 for 49 of the 50 largest US metros, on unchanged county boundaries: population change ranges from -1.1% to +14.8%, and inflation-adjusted median household income rose in all 49 of them.
• Beyond the Median: High- and Low-Income Households in the 50 Largest US Metros
  The share of households earning $125,000 or more ranges from 21% to 58% across the 50 largest US metros. Why the income distribution matters more than the median.
• What Residents Do for a Living: Industry Mix Across the 50 Largest US Metros
  Census data on the industries employed residents work in, across the 50 largest US metros: where finance, professional services, healthcare and education, hospitality and manufacturing jobs are most concentrated.
• Where Does a Prepaid Wireless Store Fit? Applying Census Rules to 25 US Downtowns
  We scored the 3-mile downtown trade area of 25 major US cities against the demographic profile prepaid wireless retailers look for. 22 score 80 or higher, including several high-income cores where density, renters and young adults outweigh the income deduction.
• How Demografics Calculates Trade-Area Demographics (and Where the Numbers Have Limits)
  The data sources, calculations and limitations behind every Demografics report: ACS 5-year estimates, census tracts inside a radius, weighted medians, competitor counts and how the scores work.

Free during launch

Guests can run 5 searches a day with no sign-up; a free account gives 30 days of unlimited reports. Questions are answered in the FAQ; learn more about Demografics.