Question
I understand the Consumer Market list data is different from Census data - but shouldn't they match, or at least be close, when using Market Planner Insights or Audience Insights?
Answer
There are a variety of reasons why the counts are different:
- Census counts are conducted every ten years and may exhibit significant demographic descrepancies; for example, certain groups have historically been undercounted such as minorities and marginalized communities.
- The 2020 Census counts vary based on community demographics and the level of participation in the surveys and this can lead to possible overrepresentation or underrepresentation of specific groups.
Possible reasons for Market Planner Insights counts to be higher than Census counts (by ZIP code):
- Our partner is able to capture a long-term aggregation of 3rd party data - including years of Consumer Market lists and New Movers data. This provides a more comprehensive view of your population's demographics.
- Duplicate records for the same person - occurs when there isn't enough masterable information to match with the person records provided by your organization and the Consumer Market list records - which, in turn, may inflate population volumes and over-counting of overall individuals in a given ZIP code.
- Client provided person records may be for individuals living at non-traditional residential addresses (e.g., prisons, rehabilitatoin centers, senior living facilities, memory care homes, etc.).
- The Census is completed every 10 years with models to estimate changes; our partner completes refreshes of identifiable individuals approximately 8 times per year.
Possible reasons for Market Planner Insights counts to be lower than Census counts (by ZIP code):
- Our partner typically captures about 80% of the total adult population and uses different methodologies and data sources to capture that amount.
- Some individuals' records are suppressed due to privacy laws - the Census does not suppress records.
- Younger (under 35 years of age) and lower income individuals are typically underrepresented in our partner's data.
