The term "demographics" refers to statistical data gleaned from the national census, relating to the population and the profile of particular socioeconomic groups living within a specific city, county, town, zip code, or census tract. This site is designed with the church planter in mind, although anyone with an interest in demographics will find helpful resources here.
Church planters, particularly those working in North America, often use this valuable information to answer important questions about the people who live in their target area: their age, racial identity, income levels, educational attainment, home ownership percentages, mobility, housing density, type of housing, and how many people live there.
While it does not replace on-site evaluation and community surveys, the church planter can discover a wealth of helpful information about the overall community. This information can be a very important component in the church planter's strategy for reaching the target community with the Gospel.
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If you know of other demographic sources, please leave a comment here or send me an e-mail. I would love to hear from you and know how to improve this site for everyone on the net. Thanks!
Chuck Salter wrote
There is a new company, founded by two of the former principals of Percept that has created the next generation in demographics for churches. It is called MissionInsite.
Posted October 13, 2008
Jaime wrote
A FREE and visual demographic tool can be found here: www.mineful.com/demographics. It contains current population demographics for states, counties, and zip codes. For each geography, go to the sortable table at the bottom and find how each county or zip code compares by statistic (e.g. highest populated county in illinois)
Posted October 09, 2008
census wrote...
Great lens, Areopagus! You've listed lots of useful resources.
Thought I'd share my free ZIP code demographics site with you. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Posted July 19, 2008
ank wrote...
Hi Areopagus, great lens . I really enjoyed articles on it. However , i have also created my lens check out
Click Here.
Posted May 21, 2007
Michael wrote
Hi, Areopagus. Just a quick note; Breakthroughchurch.com offers a free Demographic Profile by zip code or down to the nighborhood carrier route level, along with free coaching to help a church planter configure their ideal target areas (by whole or by ministry).
Thanks for the great job here!
Posted May 08, 2007
Resources on American Demographics
The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration
Amazon Price: $57.95 (as of 01/09/2009) 
Demographics: A Guide to Methods and Data Sources for Media, Business, and Government
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 01/09/2009)
Community Sourcebook of ZIP Code Demographics
Amazon Price: $326.70 (as of 01/09/2009)
American Incomes: Demographics of Who Has Money
Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)
The Methods and Materials of Demography, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $108.00 (as of 01/09/2009)
Demographics Providers
Internet sites that provide demographics.
- American FactFinder
- American FactFinder is your source for population, housing, economic and geographic data from Census 2000, the 1990 Decennial Census, the 1997 and 2002 Economic Censuses, the American Community Survey, and the Population Estimates Program
- Business Analyst Online (by ESRI)
- Business Analyst Online provides reports and maps to help you understand the lifestyle and buying behaviors of the households in your market and answer such questions as where to find optimal sites for new store locations, how to market effectively to specific customer segments, and how to profile your best customers and find more like them.
Business Analyst Online provides on-demand presentation-quality reports and maps to users who need to make decisions about site analysis and site selection, analyze trade areas, and reach target markets. Business Analyst Online is a Web-based solution, hosted by ESRI, and is easily accessible without requiring any training. - Catosphere
- Catosphere can provide the following data on a pay-as-you-go basis or by subscription, including the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the population of the Gulf Coast areas.
* demographic estimates and projections (2005/2010)
* consumer expenditures
* lifestyle segmentation
* market potential
* retail market place gap analysis (supply & demand)
* business summaries
* traffic counts
* aerial photography (for all metros in the US)
* shopping centers
Cities, counties, custom areas, zip codes, drivetime, mileage bands. - Church Planting Solutions (FREE Demographics Report!)
- Church Planting Solutions has a subscription to a service which provides the reports to them. They simply pass the reports provided to you. The data is obtained from current and past U.S. Census data, including data collected from the 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2005 with 2010 projections.
- DemographicsNow UK
- DemographicsNow.com is the premiere on-line source for UK demographic data. This site is provides data for all U.K, geographies and addresses. Get maps, reports, radius reports, current year estimates, 5 year projections, UK census data and much more.
- DemographicsNow USA
- Source for US demographics. Fee based.
- Demographic API for Google Maps
- With this API, a single mouse click on a Google Map will return two different Census 2000 Demographic reports for 1, 3, and 5 miles around any location and simultaneously add radius rings to the map. Because both Google Maps and Census 2000 demographic information are free, this powerful, yet incredibly simple application can bring a whole new level of instant location-based analysis to individuals and organizations across the United States. Retailers can quickly perform site-selection analysis, government agencies can study neighborhoods to determine appropriate levels of service, non-profits can study a population base to determine where they should operate, and much more.
- DemographicsCanada
- DemographicsCanada has been developed by SRC, LLC and Generation5 Inc. to bring you the data you need to make sound business decisions. With G5 demographicsCanada you can analyze the demographic and market potential of any geography in Canada. Monthly subscription available, in addition to annual fee plans.
- FreeDemographics (by DemographicsNow USA)
- DemographicsNow.com is the premiere on-line source for U.S. demographic data. This site is provides data for all U.S, geographies and addresses. Get maps, reports, radius reports, current year estimates, 5 year projections, U.S. census data and much more.
- Percept (endorsed by Thom Rainer)
- Percept provides a full spectrum of information products, from an introductory FirstView report for a single ZIP Code area to a comprehensive PeopleArea study of the United States or any other uniquely defined region or ministry area in-between. Percept is the only full-service demographic information company completely dedicated to church leaders. Recognized as one of The Best 100 sources of information products and services by American Demographics magazine.
- PC(USA) - FREE Demographics for Churches
- Free demographics by city, state, or zip code. USA only. Research Services of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
- P2 People & Places :: demographic people classification :: Homepage
- UK-based geodemographic people classification, classifying people by where they live. Each postcode in the UK has been assigned a P² People & Places code, so every location in the UK is covered. With P², you can learn who your customers are, and find more like them.
P² covers the whole of the UK and has been developed using 2001 Census data. This data has been combined with data from the Target Group Index (TGI), which incorporates attitudinal data. P² has been developed in conjunction with the University of Liverpool, the team that developed the Super Profiles classification. - Visions-Decisions: Demography for Churches
- Congregation planning, congregational studies, church demography, congregational survey, church demographics, church reports, church study, church planning, church market research, DecisionsPoll, ethnic studies, immigrant studies, judicatory local area regional, visions newsletter, church newsletter
- Link2Lead (by Percept)
- We are dedicated to providing the latest information about your community, hands-on tools to better understand and develop your own capabilities and a variety of additional resources to assist you in leading your congregation into the new world of opportunities awaiting us in the 21st century.
American Demographics
Recent articles published by Advertising Age
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byDemographics Resources
Srds the Lifestyle Market Analyst 2006 DMA Market Profiles
Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)
Aging: Demographics, Health, and Health Services
Amazon Price: $82.95 (as of 01/09/2009)
Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift
Amazon Price: (as of 01/09/2009)
Demographic Vistas: Television in American Culture
Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 01/09/2009)
Demographic Methods and Concepts
Amazon Price: $49.95 (as of 01/09/2009)
Articles for Church Planters
- Do Demographics Really Matter?
- An excellent 4-page article (PDF formate) written by Dr. Bruce McAllister, Director of Ministerial Training and Extension, Bob Jones University. Copyright 2006, Bob Jones University.
- Fannie Mae Foundation: Census Notes
- Timely analyses of Census 2000 data to stimulate discussion and further research. Articles are produced in PDF format.
- Understanding the People You Will Reach
- An article on the subject of demographics from Church Planting Solutions.
