“Statistics. You can prove anything with statistics.” – Sir Humphrey Appleby in “The Smoke Screen” on Yes, Prime Minister
“Statistics are as dull as dishwater, but they don’t lie.” – My high school US History teacher
There are two schools of thought out there about statistics, and you’ve just heard a little from each of them. No matter how you feel about statistics in general, they always become immediately fascinating to you if they have something to do with your everyday life, especially if it involves your own business venture.
Unfortunately, searching for statistics and demographics can be very overwhelming to even the seasoned researcher. Let’s step back a minute and take a look at some of my favorite places to turn when searching out the elusive numbers you’re looking for. First, we’ll cover resources for the Charleston or SC area, then we’ll look at sources of regional or national statistics.
Charleston Area and South Carolina Resources
DemographicsNow
Available in library and at home to any Charleston County Library card holder at http://tinyurl.com/ccplbusinessdatabases
The first place you should check for demographics is our database called DemographicsNow. It is the easiest online database/resource I have ever used and can often be a one-stop shop for your Charleston or SC demographic needs. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest CCPL library branch, where you can access this database online at http://tinyurl.com/ccplbusinessdatabases. This database asks you a few short questions to guide you through choosing your geographical location, then it creates everything you need on-the-fly, from tables and charts to maps tailored to your input. You can search by City, ZIP Code, and customized drivetimes as well as 13 other kinds of geographical divisions. Once you choose your location, the database generates 37 summary reports, 37 comparison reports, 7 types of ranking reports, and 11 kinds of maps. The data your get covers everything from population to consumer expenditure for the recent past, the current year, and even projections for the next 5 years. My recommendation is to save everything you can as either a PDF, Word, or Excel file (you can choose which you want) and take the time to study the reports in detail later. They even look good enough to append to the back of your business plan if you want to!
Still need some information? Okay, here are some other resources to check for local or SC demographics:
Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Market Facts
Available at the Main Library on the Business Center’s periodical shelf. May also be available at some of the Regional Libraries. Call ahead to verify.
Published once a year by the Charleston Regional Business Journal, the Market Facts supplement has a lot of great local demographics and other statistical information about our local market. Categories of information include: Commercial Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, Demographics, Employment, Education, Import/Export, Hospitality & Tourism, Medical & Health, Business Resources, and Government. No matter how often I look in here, I always find something new and useful for the question I’m researching. I really like that the editors give you the source for each bit of information listed. That way, if you have a question or need some advice, you can try to contact the expert yourself and see what else they might know that can help you out.
MPA: Market Profile Analysis, Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Available at the Main Library’s Reference Desk (Ref Desk 380.1 Marke).
A collection of hard to find local demographic information including population factors, household factors, education & labor force factors, industry & occupational factors, and business market factors. You can cross-reference ZIP Codes and Census tracts. Mostly useful for checking on historical numbers or older trends since our most recent edition is from 2008. Ask for this source in the South Carolina Room.
Regional / National Demographics
Census.gov
and
American Factfinder
Available online at www.census.gov
The main source of our nation’s demographics, the US Census Bureau produces many surveys & data products in addition to the Census that is conducted every 10 years. Pay attention especially to the American Community Survey for the most up-to-date information about communities around the country and to the link to American Factfinder for easy access to the latest population, housing, economic, and geographic data. (Don’t forget to check out their information about US Business & Industry for some helpful industry statistics while you’re there.)
Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2011
Available online at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ or in print at any library branch
This publication is one of the first and best places to turn for US government statistics. Check the Index for keywords that relate to your target market or your industry. Note that the numbers in the index refer to table numbers, not to page numbers. Enjoy this source while you can: due to budget cuts, the Census Bureau plans to stop releasing this title. (Tip: Most US states also have a statistical abstract which is free to view online. Use Google to track them down using searches like South Carolina Statistical Abstract, which in SC’s case is located at http://abstract.sc.gov)
Community Sourcebook of County Demographics
Available at the Main Library’s Reference Desk (Ref Desk 339.41)
This book can quickly pin down some basic demographics regarding population change, population composition, households, income, and top industry for these geographical divisions around the country.
New Strategist publications
Available at the Main Library in the Business Center and in the Reference collections
The publisher New Strategist takes Census data & crunches the numbers in ways that turn the raw data into a format more easily applied to starting a business. Check these sources for your most useful national demographic information about people:
- Best Customers (Bus Ref 339.47 Best)
- American Men (Bus Ref 331 American)
- American Women (Bus Ref 331.4 American)
- Household Spending(Bus Ref 339.47 Househol)
Also be sure to check the Library’s catalog (http://catalog.ccpl.org) for other New Strategist publications not shelved in the Business Ref area. (Follow the link or do a keyword search for New Strategist Publications.)
Reality Check
Remember that researching statistics can feel like a huge and overwhelming task, so if you find yourself bogging down, it’s good to keep these things in mind:
- The smaller the geographic area you’re searching, the fewer information resources are available. This rule of thumb makes sense if you think about it. Apart from the government, groups who collect data need to be able to make a profit from selling the information. The smaller the geographic area, the fewer people there are to sell it to.
- If you’re stuck, stop your research and ask yourself, “Who would possibly want or need to know this information?” Sometimes you’ll find that you already know which organization or government office to ask for help if you think about it from that point of view.
- Ask experts. Remember that most reference books tell you where their information comes from. New Strategist publications also list experts in the field in the back of their books. Census Bureau folks can sometimes be helpful resources via email or on the phone. Don’t hesitate to ask these experts about their data.
- If you’re gathering data for your business plan, keep in mind that what you’re collecting only has value if either a) it helps you get business financing or b) it helps you understand your potential customers or your industry in a way you can actually act on. Keep these goals in mind as you search so you don’t get bogged down in a level of detail that’s not going to put money in your pocket.
Good luck!
Article History: published July 1, 2008 @16:22, updated August 1, 2011 @ 16:19 .
Online at http://ccplbusiness.wordpress.com/demographics-statistics/
