Who makes up the 94118 according to ESRI
The folks over at Curbed SF hipped us to the latest analysis of zip code demographics done by a company called ESRI (“Esri inspires and enables people to positively impact the future through a deeper, geographic understanding of the changing world around them”).
Type in your zip code and up comes demographic and lifestyle information about you and your neighbors, sourced from the US Census. For San Francisco at least, Esri eschews the typical “soccer mom” demographic labels for more modern one like “Trendsetters” and “Laptops and Lattes” (zip over to Minnesota for example and you’ll still find “Soccer Moms”).
We couldn’t resist seeing how the two zips of the Richmond District – 94118 and 94121 – were categorized in the analysis.
The inner Richmond District (94118) is made up of 47% Trendsetters (“young, educated singles with good jobs who spend our disposable income on upscale city living and entertainment – mostly on rent”), 39% Laptops and Lattes (“affluent, well-educated singles and partner couples who love life in the big city and hold professional positions in business, finance, legal, computer and entertainment”), and just 9% Downtown Melting Pot (“married couple families; half of us are foreign-born and one-third doesn’t speak English; we have professional, sales, administrative and food and personal service jobs”).
Move to the outer Richmond District (94121) and the majority of residents are labeled as Downtown Melting Pot, followed by 21% trendsetters and 9% laptops and lattes.
The median age also goes up a bit to 43.1 versus 39 for the inner Richmond. The median household income for the inner Richmond is $82k, and slightly lower at $80k for the outer Richmond.
Descriptions of the demographic groups Esri identified
As the economic boom continues and homebuyers start setting their sights on the western edges of the city, it will be interesting to see if the outer Richmond’s demographics start to look more like the inner Richmond.
To see how we compare with the rest of San Francisco, or perhaps the place you grew up, visit the Esri Ziptapestry website to look up any zip code.
Sarah B.
Who’s who in the 94121
More junk science. Read the description of “Downtown Melting pot”. Now, if you have lived in the 94121 for 30 plus years…the description is not even close. Most of the Asians in the 94121 own their own homes. Most young people live in the apartments. Some 90% work in the City and County of San Francisco and do not commute out of town.
This is a prime example of to many outlets, websites, new organizations, and the like and too little “new stuff” to publish. With so much needed volume to fill, we get junk science like this all too often.
It’s not junk science – it’s done by ESRI who is a world leader in GIS science and software. But it is generalized and doesn’t account for lapses in data. The buckets are, however, for the most part accurate. You’re anecdotal evidence is nice, but ESRI is real science bud.
http://www.esri.com/
Science as in they conducted survey or just borrowed old US Census Bureau data? I’ll wait…No one spoke to me, my neighbors, or anyone who doesn’t speak English. Are they mining browser data? What about people in said, “DT melting pot” demo who don;t use computers. I’ll wait…
This is the same company that Spike TV’s Bar Rescue uses. Meaning, that the data is best used to determine what kind of restaurant, bar, business to open in that area. Basically, how to cater to the market. If you re-read the descriptions, it focuses mainly on generalizing spending habits. For example, in Richmond, an area with a high ‘Downtown Melting Pot’ and a median age of ~43 (4 years older than the rest of the county), may point to a Sports Bar or Dive Bar. An area like the Marina, with a 90% ‘Laptop and Lattes’ and a median age of ~35 (4 years younger than the rest of the county), may point to a singles bar with loud music, a dance floor, and expensive craft cocktails.
@SupervisorSF – Interesting. I would love to see John Taffer use the terms “Laptops and Lattes”! lol
agree that it is junk, and i wouldnt even put the word science in there. neither of these are accurate depictions of the richmond
Since I was using ArcInfo and MapInfo in the early 1990’s, I am somewhat of an authority on what can be done with Geographic Information Systems. I even have my own Web Based GIS system that I designed…so, I sort of know what I am talking about.
The problem is that any idiot without an real training in Survey Methods, Statistics, or anything closely related can grab data from here and there, put in a nice map, and fool people into thinking they have something.
I would venture that 98% of the stuff you see with mapping on the internet is not worth the pixels it is using up.
The real test is would the person who put it up stake their first born on a University Peer Review board of the work they posted. If they say they will then good science. If they would not, then junk.
JD.
And seriously?! There are LOTS of singles over 43 here who don’t like sports bars. Just saying…
If there are so many “trendsetters” in 94118 why are there so many vacant commercial properties?
@4thGenRichmond
Perhaps that’s an example one of the trendsetters current trends… shopping in Daly City.
I could see how this information would be valuable to marketers, which is obviously who it is aimed towards. I assume all the info here is acquired via data mining.
Wow, to be reduced to one of three categories is a little depressing.
St. Paul – don’t worry, you’re no doubt on numerous marketing lists, all with category sets that are thought of as useful – so you’re really the intersection of numerous marketing categories – who knows maybe there’s even a person in there somewhere ! 🙂
Lattes and laptops? Why not dim sum and donuts? Linguini and land lines? Piroshki and produce? Looking for other measures, the southern mid-Richmond is still a place where people walk their own dogs…
@RICHMONDWOW – I agree, so where can we find each other? 🙂