PRIZM Social Groups
The PRIZM social groups are the product of Claritas
North America, a marketing research firm which specializes in comprehensieve
consumer and workplace marketing data. The clusters represent groups of people
with similar lifestyles and consumption patterns. Because they include
these factors in addition to demographic information on each segment,
PRIZM clusters represent a psychographic, in contrast to a demographic, approach
to market segmentation. Identifying the dominant PRIZM clusters in a
market area allows a firm to tailor its offerings to the lifestyle patterns and
values of the market. The primary clusters in the dataset for the San
Francisco area are identified in red below.
You may discover the top 5 PRIZM clusters in any ZIP code from
the Claritas site.
S1 - Elite Suburbs
The five Clusters of Group S1, the nation's most affluent Social Group, rank in the first and second deciles of Claritas' education and affluence scale. Group S1 is concentrated in the country's major metros, with over 90 percent of total households in the Top 25 TV markets. The S1 Clusters share high income, education, investment, and spending levels. Despite low incidence levels, Groups 1 and 2 share high index concentrations of wealthy Asian and Arabic immigrants. Beyond these shared patterns, there are marked differences.
U1 - Urban Uptown
With three of its five Clusters in the first affluence decile plus two in the third decile, Group U1 is ranked as the nation's second most affluent Social Group. Major market concentrations are extreme, with over 94% of total households in the Top 10 TV markets. Consistent for over two decades, these Clusters show high concentrations of executives and professionals in business, finance, entertainment, and education. More recently, they have absorbed a wave of upscale immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
C1 - 2nd City Society
The three Clusters of Social Group C1 comprise the upper deck in hundreds of America's "second" and "edge" cities. As a Group, they share high education and incomes, having one Cluster in the second, and two in the third affluence deciles. They also share high home ownership, employment as executives and professionals in essential local industries, such as business, finance, health, law, communications, and wholesale. They are far more conservative than their upscale S1 peers in the suburbs of major metros.
T1 - Landed Gentry
The four Clusters of Social Group T1 are found in 180 of 212 TV markets, covering a vast amount of American geography. With one Cluster in the first, one in the second, and two in the third affluence deciles, T1 is the fourth most affluent Group. As a Group, they all show large, multi-income families of school-aged kids, headed by well-educated executives, professionals, and "techies". Above all, they share serenity, for T1 neighborhoods lie far outside the metro beltways, many in the nation's most spectacular coastal areas and uplands.
S2 - The Affluentials
The five Clusters of Social Group S2 represent the upper-middle income suburbs of major metros. Almost 77% of its total households are concentrated in the Top 25 TV Markets, with 90% in the Top 50. With one Cluster each in the second and third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth affluence deciles, S2 is our fifth most affluent Group. As a Group, these Clusters share above-average incomes and rentals, an eclectic mix of homes, condos, and apartments, a broad spectrum of business, technical, and public service jobs, daily commuting...and very little else.
S3 - Inner Suburbs
The four Clusters of Social Group S3 comprise the middle income suburbs of major metros, concentrated 59% in the Top 25, 84% in the Top 50, and 95% in the Top 75 TV markets. With two Clusters at the bottom of the fifth and two at the top of the seventh affluence decile, S3 straddles the US average. Otherwise, they are markedly different, two having more college-educated white collars, two with more high-school-educated blue collars, two young, one old, one mixed, and all showing distinct, variant patterns of employment, lifestyle, and regional concentration.
U2 - Urban Midscale
The five Clusters of Social Group U2 collect the middle income, urban-fringe neighborhoods of America's major metros. As with Group U1, Group U2 is highly concentrated, with 75% of total households in the Top 5 TV markets, and 96% in the Top 25. With one Cluster in the fourth, two in the sixth, and two in the seventh affluence deciles, Group U2 averages below the mean. As a Group, the U2 Clusters share high population densities, ethnic diversity, public transportation, and all the perks and risks of urban life, yet are otherwise unique.
C2 - 2nd City Centers
The five Clusters of Social Group C2 describe the midscale, middle-density, "edge" cities surrounding major metros, as well as many smaller second-tier cities, and cover all but 10 minor, agrarian TV markets in the US With one Cluster in the fourth, two in the fifth, and one each in the sixth and seventh affluence deciles, and with a lower cost of living, the C2 Clusters are generally more prosperous than their peers in Group U2. With minor exceptions, they are predominantly white. Otherwise, they are fundamentally different in age, marriage, education, occupations, and lifestyle.
T2 - Exurban Blues
The four Clusters of Social Group T2 cover the midscale, low-density towns lying at the outskirts of all major metros and second cities alike, thus the Group is represented in all but three small TV Markets. With one Cluster each in the fourth and fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh affluence deciles, Group T2 is comparable to Groups S3, U2, and C2. Three of these Clusters are predominantly white, show an even age distribution, own homes, marry, and raise kids. The fourth defines lifestyles in military group quarters, and is unique.
R1 - Country Families
The four Clusters of Social Group R1 confirm a continuing trend to strong economic growth in rural America. With two Clusters in the fourth, one in the sixth, and one in the eighth affluence deciles, Group R1 now rivals Groups S3, U2, C2 and T2 in midscale affluence and, with far lower living costs, suffer less poverty. Collecting hundreds of small towns and remote exurbs, the Group covers all but a few TV markets. They are largely composed of white, married couples, many with children, in industrial and agrarian occupations, living in owned houses and mobile homes.
U3 - Urban Cores
The three Clusters of Social Group U3 are highly concentrated with over 60% of total households in the Top 25 TV Markets, over 99% in the Top 50. With one Cluster in the ninth, and two in the tenth affluence deciles, with the nation's lowest incomes and highest poverty ratios, U3 is the least affluent Group. These Clusters share multi-racial, multi-lingual communities of dense, rented row- and high-rise apartments, show high indices for singles, solo parents with pre-school children, and perennial unemployment.
C3 - 2nd City Blues
The four Clusters of Social Group C3 cover the downtown neighborhoods of hundreds of second cities and edge cities on the fringes of major metros. With one Cluster in the eighth, one in the ninth, and two in the tenth affluence deciles, and with lower costs of living, these Clusters are better off than their big-city cousins in Group U3. Coupled with pockets of unemployment, broken homes, and solo parents, we also see a wide range of occupations, including clerical, retail, labor, transportation, agrarian, public & private services.
T3 - Working Towns
The four Clusters of Social Group T3 collect thousands of remote exurbs and satellite towns, lying well outside our major metros and second cities, and in all but four TV markets. With one Cluster in the sixth, one in the eighth, and two in the ninth affluence deciles, T3 is considerably better off than Groups U3 and C3. As a Group, these Clusters share lower educations and incomes, with predominant blue-collar occupations, an equal mix of owned and rented single-unit houses, religion, home crafts, and a lot of awesome scenery. Otherwise, they are distinctly different.
R2 - Heartlanders
The two Clusters of Social Group R2 describe the nation's agrarian heartland, broadly geo-centered in the Great Plains, South Central, Mountains, and Pacific, with a few pockets in the East. With one Cluster each in the eighth and tenth affluence deciles, the Group is hardly the jet set. Since they are comparatively self-sufficient with a low cost of living, they are not deprived. As a Group, they share large, multi-generation families, long residential tenure in low-density houses and mobile homes, a mix of Hispanics and Native Americans, and a fierce independence.
R3 - Rustic Living
The five Clusters of Social Group R3 describe thousands of remote country towns, villages, hamlets, and reservations scattered across the U.S.. With two Clusters in the eighth, two in the ninth, and one in the tenth affluence deciles, they are neither affluent nor destitute. In fact, since the five R3 Clusters have lower-middle incomes and their cost of living is minimal, they are a promising market. As a Group, they share marriage, plus many elders, mobile homes, kids, carpools, craftsmen and laborers in agriculture, mining, transport, and construction.
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