By Rieva Lesonsky
The 2010 Census results are in and the Census Bureau has gradually been releasing the data. Census results are a treasure trove of information for small businesses because they reveal demographic trends that affect your target customers and give you insight into what business concepts, markets and regions of the country are going to be hot in the coming years. The most recent Census findings have some interesting implications for small business.
More Men: More boys than girls are born in the U.S. every year, but as we age the ratio of men to women shrinks because men don’t live as long. That’s changing in the 2010 Census, however. Men are starting to live longer, and as a result they are becoming a larger proportion of the population.
In the past decade, the number of men in the U.S. increased by 9.9 percent, faster than the 9.5 percent growth rate for women. As a result, women outnumbered men by only 5.18 million, compared with 2000, when there were 5.3 million more women than men.
The biggest change came in the older cohorts. Since 2000, the number of men aged 65 and older increased by 21 percent, nearly double the 11.2 percent growth rate for women in the same age group. Among those aged 65 to 74, the number of women now exceeds the number of men by about 1.5 million, down from 1.8 million in 2000.
Americans Get Older: Overall, the nation is aging. The median age in the U.S. increased to 37.2, up from 35.3 in 2000. Among those over 18, the 45-plus age group now makes up the majority at 51.9 percent, an increase from 42 percent in 1990.
In addition, seven states and more than half of all U.S. counties now have a median age of 40 or older. Maine has the oldest residents at 42.7 years; the other states are Vermont, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Florida, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. (Utah was the youngest state, with a median age of 29.2.)
Family Relationships: Changes in gender ratios are affecting family living situations. With more men living longer, the percentage of women ages 65 to 74 who are widowed dropped to 24 percent in 2010, down from 44 percent in 1960. The percentage of older women living alone who are female decreased to 71 percent in 2010 from 75 percent in 2000. If men continue to enjoy longer life expectancy, this trend will continue.
What these trends will mean for your business depends on your industry and your niche. Read more 2010 Census data at the Census website.
Image by Flickr user comedy_nose (Creative Commons)
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