PRIZM Cluster Drift Over Time

Last Updated: October-31-2019 (work in progress)

Mark Roulo

Sales and marketing folks find it useful to group potential customers into clusters. The idea is that folks in a given cluster will behave a lot more similarly than will randomly selected people.

Starting in the mid-1970s, the Claritas corporation (among others) began gathering, processing and selling this cluster data, eventually under the PRIZM brand.

One thing that I find interesting is how the clusters evolve over time. Of the forty clusters in the 1980 set, 25 were still in the 1990 list. 12 were still in the 2000s cluster list. Only six were still in the 2010 set. The clusters that are in all sets are marked with gray.

Other color groupings are intended to show clusters that seem to be related to each other over time (e.g. an older cluster transformed into a newer cluster, or one cluster split into several related clusters).

The PRIZM clusters come roughly ranked from wealthiest/most-educated to poorest/least-educated for each cluster set. Because of this, along with clusters coming and going, one can also see some individual clusters changing over time.

So, the PRIZM clusters and their ranks for the decades of 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 (ordered mostly on the 2000 rankings):

Cluster Name Social
Group		 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
Upper Crust

Upper Crust

2000s:The nation’s most exclusive address, Upper Crust is the wealthiest lifestyle in America—a haven for empty-nesting couples between the ages of 45 and 64. No segment has a higher concentration of residents earning over $100,000 a year or possessing a postgraduate degree. And none has a more opulent standard of living.
2010s:The nation's most exclusive address, Upper Crust is a haven for wealthy empty-nesting couples over the age of 65. This segment has a high concentration of residents earning over $100,000 a year and many possess a postgraduate degree. They have an opulent standard of living - driving expensive cars and frequently eating out and traveling.
S1 — — — 1 1
Blue Blood Estates

Blue Blood Estates

1980s:Cluster 28 - America's Wealthiest Neighborhoods
America's wealthiest socioeconomic neighborhoods, populated by super-upper established managers, professionals, and heirs to "old money," accustomed to privilege, and living in luxurious surroundings. One in ten millionaires can be found in Cluster 28, and there is a considerable drop from these heights to the next level of affluence.
1990s:Established executives, professionals, and “old money” heirs live in America’s wealthiest suburbs. They are accustomed to privilege and live luxuriously. One-tenth of this group are multi-millionaires.
2000s:Blue Blood Estates is a family portrait of suburban wealth, a place of million-dollar homes and manicured lawns, high-end cars and exclusive private clubs. The nation’s second-wealthiest lifestyle is characterized by older married couples with children, college graduates, a significant percentage of Asian Americans, and six-figure incomes earned by business executives, managers, and professionals.
S1 1 1 1 2 —
Networked Neighbors

Networked Neighbors

2010s:Networked Neighbors is a family portrait of suburban wealth, a place of million-dollar homes and manicured lawns, high-end cars and exclusive private clubs. This lifestyle is characterized by married couples with children, high technology use, graduate degrees, and six-figure incomes earned by business executives, managers, and professionals.
S1 — — — — 2
Movers & Shakers

Movers & Shakers

2000s:Movers & Shakers is home to America’s up-and-coming business class: a wealthy suburban world of dual-income couples who are highly educated, typically between the ages of 35 and 54. Given its high percentage of executives and white-collar professionals, there’s a decided business bent to this segment: members of Movers & Shakers rank number one for owning a small business and having a home office.
2010s:Movers & Shakers is home to America's business class, a wealthy suburban world of dual-income couples who are highly educated, typically between the ages of 45 and 64. Given its high percentage of executives and white-collar professionals, there's a decided business bent to this segment as they enjoy reading business publications and visits to business oriented websites.
S1 — — — 3 3
Urban Gold Coast

Urban Gold Coast

1980s:Cluster 21 - Upscale urban high-rise districts.
Cluster 21 is altogether unique. It is the most densely populated per square mile, with the highest concentration of one-person households in multi-unit, high-rise buildings, and the lowest incidence of auto ownership. Other mosts: most employed, most white-collar, most professional, most rented, most childless, and most New York. Cluster 21 is the top in Urbania, a fit address for the 21 Club.
1990s:Cluster 6 - Urban Gold Coast
The highly educated professional couples and singles of Cluster 06 live in large urban apartment and condo complexes. They are found in densely populated areas such as New York City. Very few of these busy, affluent Urban Gold Coast-ers have children or own cars.
U1 11 4 3 — —
Young Digerati

Young Digerati

2000s:Young Digerati are tech-savvy and live in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe. Affluent, highly educated, and ethnically mixed, Young Digerati communities are typically filled with trendy apartments and condos, fitness clubs and clothing boutiques, casual restaurants and all types of bars—from juice to coffee to microbrew.
2010s:Young Digerati are tech-savvy and live in fashionable neighborhoods on the urban fringe. Affluent and highly educated, Young Digerati communities are typically filled with trendy apartments and condos, fitness clubs and clothing boutiques, casual restaurants and all types of bars, from juice to coffee to microbrew. Many have chosen to start families while remaining in an urban environment.
U1 — — — 4 4
Country Squires

Country Squires

1990s:Yearning to escape urban stress, Country Squires have moved away from our major cities to the outer suburbs to find tranquility in the country. They are well-educated professionals and white-collar managers who are married with children. Fourth in affluence, this cluster has "big bucks in the boondocks."
2000s:The wealthiest residents in exurban America live in Country Squires, an oasis for affluent Baby Boomers who've fled the city for the charms of small-town living. In their bucolic communities noted for their recently built homes on sprawling properties, the families of executives live in six-figure comfort. Country Squires enjoy country club sports like golf, tennis, and swimming as well as skiing, boating, and biking.
2010s:The wealthiest residents in exurban America live in Country Squires, an oasis for affluent Baby Boomers who've fled the city for the charms of small-town living. In their bucolic communities noted for their recently built homes on sprawling properties, the families of executives live in six-figure comfort.
T1 — — 4 5 5
Winner's Circle

Winner's Circle

1980s:Cluster 5 - New money in metropolitan bedroom suburbs.
[Named "Furs & Station Wagons" in the 1980s clustering]
Third in socioeconomic rank, Cluster 5 is typified by "new money" living in expensive new neighborhoods in the green-belt suburbs of the nations major metros coast to coast. These are well educated mobile professionals and managers with the nation's highest incidence of teenage children.
1990s:These "new money" families live in expensive "mini-mansions" in major metropolitan suburbs. They are well-educated executives and professionals who are married with teenagers. Big producers and big spenders, Winner’s Circle families enjoy globetrotting.
2000s:Among the wealthy suburban lifestyles, Winner's Circle is the youngest, a collection of mostly 25- to 44-year-olds with large families in new-money subdivisions. Surrounding their homes are the signs of upscale living: recreational parks, golf courses, and upscale malls. With an income nearly double the national median, Winner's Circle residents are big spenders who like to travel, ski, go out to eat, shop at clothing boutiques, and take in a show.
2010s:Among the wealthy suburban lifestyles, Winner's Circle is the youngest, a collection of mostly 35- to 54-year-old couples with large families in new-money subdivisions. Surrounding their homes are the signs of upscale living - recreational parks, golf courses, and upscale malls. With a median income over $100,000, Winner's Circle residents are big spenders who like to travel, ski, go out to eat, shop at clothing boutiques, and take in a show.
S1/S2 2 3 2 6 6
Money & Brains

Money & Brains

1980s:Cluster 8 - Posh big-city enclaves of townhouses, condos and apartments
Cluster 8 enjoys the nation's second highest socioeconomic rank. These neighborhoods are typified by swank, shipshape townhouses, apartments and condos with relatively few children. Many Cluster 8s contain private universities and a mix of upscale singles. They are sophisticated consumers of adult luxurics: apparel, restaurants, travel and the like.
1990s:Cluster 7 - Money and Brains
Cluster 07 is a mix of family types: singles, married couples with children, and married couples without children. These families own their homes in upscale neighborhoods near cities. Dual incomes provide luxuries, travel, and entertainment.
2000s:The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all: high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots.
2010s:The residents of Money & Brains seem to have it all - high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials. Many of these city dwellers are married couples with few children who live in fashionable homes on small, manicured lots with expensive cars in the driveway.
S1/U1 5 2 5 7 7
Young Literati

Young Literati

1990s:Cluster 8 - Young Literati
Although less affluent than Money and Brains, Cluster 08 is better educated. Young Literati executives, professionals, and students live in apartments, condos, and townhouses near private urban universities. They have few children, leaving them free to lead active lives filled with travel, art, and fitness.
 — — 6 — —
Two More Rungs

Two More Rungs

1980s:Cluster 25 - Comfortable multi-ethnic suburbs
Just behind Cluster 7 [Pools & Patios] in affluence, Cluster 25 has a high concentration of foreign born European ethnics and is somewhat older with even fewer children. It is also more dense, with a higher incidence of renters in multi-unit high rise housing, with a northeastern geo-center. Cluster 25s show a high index for professionals and more conservative spending patterns.
S2 3 6 — — —
Executive Suites

Executive Suites

1990s:Executive Suites singles and married couples have bought their first houses and condos. They have more children than the other clusters in the S1 Social Group. Although they are less affluent than Winner’s Circle, they are equally ambitious, well educated, and competent, but ten years younger.
2000s:Executive Suites consists of upper-middle-class singles and couples typically living just beyond the nation's beltways. Filled with significant numbers of Asian Americans and college graduates—both groups are represented at more than twice the national average—this segment is a haven for white-collar professionals drawn to comfortable homes and apartments within a manageable commute to downtown jobs, restaurants, and entertainment.
2010s:The residents of Executive Suites tend to be prosperous and active professionals who own multiple computers, large-screen TV sets, and are above average in their use of technology. Executive Suites also enjoy cultural activities, from reading books to attending theater and watching independent movies.
S1/S2 — — 8 8 10
Big Fish, Small Pond

Big Fish, Small Pond

1990s:Married couples with and without children dominate this conservative, family-oriented cluster. They are very similar to God's Country, but slightly less affluent. Most are high school graduates and have taken some college classes. These captains of local industry enjoy investing in their homes and vacationing by car in the United States.
2000s:Older, upper-class, college-educated professionals, the members of Big Fish, Small Pond are often among the leading citizens of their small-town communities. These upscale, empty-nesting couples enjoy the trappings of success, including belonging to country clubs, maintaining large investment portfolios, and spending freely on computer technology.
2010s:Older, upper-class, college-educated professionals, the members of Big Fish, Small Pond are often among the leading citizens of their small- town communities. These upscale, empty-nesting couples enjoy the trappings of success, including belonging to country clubs, maintaining large investment portfolios, and spending freely on computer technology.
T2/T1 25 — 18 9 9Vanished in 1980s and returned!
Second City Elite

Second City Elite

1990s:The movers and shakers of America’s smaller cities are the prototypes for Second City Elite. Although most are married without children, some have teenagers. They hold professional and white-collar management positions, and many have attended college or are college graduates.
2000s:There's money to be found in the nation's smaller cities, and you're most likely to find it in Second City Elite. The residents of these satellite cities tend to be prosperous executives who decorate their homes with multiple computers, large-screen TV sets, and an impressive collection of wines. With more than half holding college degrees, Second City Elite residents enjoy cultural activities—from reading books to attending theater and dance productions.
C1 — — 7 10 —Merged with Executive Suites?
God's Country

God's Country

1980s:Cluster 1 - Upscale frontier boomtowns.
Cluster 1 contains the highest socioeconomic, white-collar neighborhoods primarily located outside of standard metropolitan statistical areas. These are well-educated frontier types who have opted to live away from the big metros in some of our most beautiful mountain and coastal areas. Cluster 1 populations are highly mobile and are among the nation's fastest growing neighborhoods. they are outstanding consumers of both products and media.
1990s:Like Country Squires, the large families of Cluster 15 [God's Country] prefer to live away from the city. They are well-educated professionals or white-collar managers. Dual incomes support an active lifestyle that is centered around family and outdoor activities.
2000s:When city dwellers and suburbanites began moving to the country in the 1970s, God's Country emerged as the most affluent of the nation's exurban lifestyles. Today, wealthier communities exist in the hinterlands, but God's Country remains a haven for upscale couples in spacious homes. Typically college-educated Baby Boomers, these Americans try to maintain a balanced lifestyle between high-power jobs and laid-back leisure
2010s:When city dwellers and suburbanites began moving to the country in the 1970s, God's Country emerged as the most affluent of the nation's exurban lifestyles. Today, wealthier communities exist in the hinterlands, but God's Country remains a haven for upscale couples in spacious homes. Typically college-educated Baby Boomers, these Americans try to maintain a balanced lifestyle between high-power jobs and laid-back leisure
T1 8 9 11 11 —
Bright Lites, Li'l City C1 — — — 12 37
Cruisin' to Retirement S2 — — — — 12
Upward Bound C1/S2 — — 13 13 13
New Empty Nests S2 — — 15 14 —
Empty Nests S3 — — — — 20
Pools & Patios

Pools & Patios

1980s:Cluster 7 - Older, upper-middle-class suburban communities
Cluster 7 once resembled Cluster 5 [Furs & Stations Wagons → Winner's Circle], being upscale green-belt suburbs in a late child-rearing mode. But today, most of these children have grown and departed, leaving aging couples in empty nests too costly for young homemakers. Good educations, high white-collar employment levels, and double incomes assure "the good life" in Cluster 7.
S2 4 5 9 15 30
Sun-Belt Singles
1970s:Southern suburban areas populated by young professionals.
U1 12 — — — —
Bohemian Mix
1980s:Inner-city Bohemian enclaves a la Greenwich Village.
U1 13 11 17 16 —
Connected Bohemians U2 — — — — 31
Levittown, USA
1980s:Aging, post-World War II tract sub-divisions.
S4 9 12 — — —
Black Enterprise
1980s:Predominantly black middle-and upper-middle-class neighborhoods.
U1 — 14 — — —Mostly integrated
Blue-Collar Nursery
1980s:Middle-class, child-rearing towns.
T2 16 16 — — —
Beltway Boomers S2 — — — 17 16
Young Suburbia

Young Suburbia

1980s:Cluster 24 - Child-rearing, outlying suburbs
Cluster 24 is one of our largest clusters, found coast to coast in most major markets. It runs to large, young families, and ranks second in incidence of married couples with children. Cluster 24s are distinguished by their relative affluence and high white-collar employment levels. As a result, they are strong consumers of most family products
S3 7 8 — — —
Kids & Cul-de-Sacs S2 — — 10 18 14
Home Sweet Home S2/S3 — — — 19 26
Fast Track Families T1 — — — 20 11
Gray Power
1980s:Upper-middle-class retirement communities.
S4/3/2 — 13 16 21 8
Young Influentials

Young Influentials

1980s:Cluster 20 - Yuppie, fringe-city condo and apartment development
Cluster 20s could be imagined as tomorrow's Cluster 8s. These are young, metropolitan sophisticates, with exceptional high-tech, white collar employment levels. Double incomes afford high spending, and lifestyles are open, with singles, childless couples, and unrelated adults predominating in expensive, one- and two-person homes, apartments, and condos. Cluster 20 is skewed to the "new West."
2000s:Once known as the home of the nation’s yuppies, Young Influentials reflects the fading glow of acquisitive yuppiedom. Today, the segment is a common address for younger, middle-class singles and couples who are more preoccupied with balancing work and leisure pursuits. Having recently left college dorms, they now live in apartment complexes surrounded by ball fields, health clubs, and casual-dining restaurants.
S2/S3 6 7 12 22 —Yuppies no longer a thing.
Young & Influential

Young & Influential

2010s:Young & Influential is a segment of younger, lower middle class households that might not have high incomes but are nonetheless influential in their communities and social networks and are very tech savvy. The segment is a common address for middle-class singles and couples who are more preoccupied with balancing work and leisure pursuits and who live in apartment complexes surrounded by ball fields, health clubs, and casual-dining restaurants.
S4 — — — — 34
Township Travellers T2 — — — — 23
Greenbelt Families — — 19 — —
Greenbelt Sports T2 — — — 23 —
Pickup Patriarchs T2 — — — — 24
Up-and-Comers C2/S3 — — — 24 25
Country Casuals T1/T2 — — — 25 28
The Cosmopolitans U1 — — — 26 21
Middleburg Managers C2/C1 — — 20 27 22
Traditional Times T2/T3 — — — 28 32
American Dreams U1 — — 14 29 19
Boomers & Babies — — 21 — —
Suburban Sprawl S3 — — 24 30 —
Second City Startups C1 — — — — 33
Urban Achievers U2 — — 22 31 35
New Homesteaders

New Homesteaders

1980s::Cluster 17 - Ex-urban boomtowns of young mid-scale families
Cluster 17 is much like Cluster 1 [God's Country[ in its mobility, housing, and family characteristics. The big difference is that Cluster 17 is nine rungs down on the socioeconomic scale, with all measures of education and affluence being significantly lower. Cluster 17 shows peak concentrations of military personnel, and picks up some Hispanic and Native Americans as a result of its strong Western skew. It is one of our largest and fastest-growing clusters.
T1/T2 10 17 26 32 15
New Melting Pot

New Melting Pot

1980s::Cluster 3 - New immigrant neighborhoods, primarily in the nation's port cities
The original European stock of many old urban neighborhoods has given way to new immigrant populations, often with Hispanic, Asian, and Middle-Eastern origins. These trends have formed a "new" melting pot, which includes many "old" melting-pot areas along with new immigrant neighborhoods. As a result, Cluster 3s are now situated in the major ports of entry on both east and west coasts.
U2 — 18 — — —
Bunker's Neighbors U2 17 — — — —"Archie" Bunker
Old Melting Pot U2 18 — — — —
Blue-Collar Catholics U2 19 — — — —
Upstarts & Seniors — — 28 — —
Towns & Gowns

Towns & Gowns

1980s:Cluster 12 - America's college towns
Cluster 12 contains hundreds of mid-scale college and university towns in nonmetropolitan America. The population ratio of three-quarters locals ("Towns") and one-quarter students ("Gowns"), giving Cluster 12 its name and unique profile. It shows extreme concentrations of age-18-to-24 singles and students in group quarters, very high educational, professional, and technical levels in contrast with modest incomes & home values, and a taste for prestige products.
T1 — 19 31 — —
Eastern Europeans U2 20 — — — —
Rank & File

Rank & File

1980s::Cluster 2 - Older, blue-collar, industrial suburbs
Cluster 2 is a blue-collar version of Cluster 27 [Levittown, U.S.A.], five rungs down the socioeconomic scale. This new cluster absorbed the original Cluster 2s [1970s "Eastern Europeans"], and gathered many other traditional blue-collar neighborhoods whose children have grown and departed. Cluster 2s show high concentrations of protective-services and blue-collar workers living in aged duplex rows and multi-unit "railroad" flats, and lead the nation in durable manufacturing.
S4 — 20 — — — Unions declined
Toolbelt Traditionalists S4 — — — — 36
Big City Blend — — 32 — —
Old Yankee Rows
1980s:Working-class rowhouse districts.
U2 — 22 37 — —
Old Brick Factories T2 22 — — — —
Down-Home Gentry T2 23 — — — —
Coalburg & Corntown
1980s:Small towns based on light industry and farming.
T2 27 23 — — —
New Eco-topia — — 25 — —
Big Sky Families T2 — — 23 33 27
White Picket Fences C2/T2 — — — 34 29
Boomtown Singles C2 — — 27 35 —
Lo-Tech Singles C2 — — — — 53
Struggling Singles C2 — — — — 54
Blue-Chip Blues
1980s:The wealthiest blue-collar suburbs.
S3 14 10 30 36 —
Mayberry-ville T2 — — — 37 18
Simple Pleasures T3 — — — 38 52
Domestic Duos S3 — — — 39 41
Close-In Couples U2 — — — 40 —
Aspiring A-Listers U2 — — — — 40
Sunset City Blues C2 — — 39 41 —
Middle America

Middle America

1980s:Cluster 16 - Mid-scale, mid-size towns
Cluster 16 is well-named on several counts. It is composed of mid-sized, middle-class satellite suburbs and towns. It is at center on the socioeconomic scale, and is close to the U.S. average on most measures of age, ethnicity, household composition, and life cycle. It is also centered in the Great Lakes industrial region, near the population geo-center of the U.S.
T2 15 21 33 — —
River City, USA — — 34 — —
Red, White & Blues T3/T4 — — 35 42 55
Starter Families C — — 36 — —
Country Strong T3 — — — — 44
Heartlanders T3 — — — 43 46
New Beginnings

New Beginnings

1980s:Cluster 23 - Fringe-city areas of singles complexes, garden apartments and bungalows
This neighborhood type finds its roots in Cluster 23 of an old PRIZM Model: "Bunker's Neighbors." The new residents are now largely techs and lower-echelon white collars. The predominant age is 18-34 and the mode is pre-child. They are highly mobile, employed, divorced, and rented. Many 23s have provided homes for a steady flow of young migrants to the South and West in search of new job opportunities and lifestyles.
2000s:Filled with young, single adults, New Beginnings is a magnet for adults in transition. Many of its residents are twentysomething singles and couples just starting out on their career paths—or starting over after recent divorces or company transfers. Ethnically diverse—with nearly half its residents Hispanic, Asian, or African-American—New Beginnings households tend to have the modest living standards typical of transient apartment dwellers.
2010s:Filled with younger, mostly single adults, New Beginnings is a magnet for adults in transition. Many of its residents are singles and couples just starting out on their career paths in service jobs, or starting over after recent divorces or company transfers. New Beginnings households tend to have the modest living standards typical of transient apartment dwellers.
S4/C3 — 15 29 44 66
Blue Highways T3 — — — 45 —
Old Glories S4 — — — 46 —
City Startups C3 — — — 47 —
Striving Selfies C2 — — — — 47
Generation Web C2 — — — — 48
Young and Rustic T4 — — — 48 —
American Classics S4/C2 — — — 49 49
Kid Country, USA T3 — — — 50 39
Shotguns and Pickups

Shotguns and Pickups

1980s:Class 19 - Crossroads villages serving the nation's lumber and breadbasket needs
Cluster 19 aggregates hundreds of small out-lying townships and crossroads villages that serve the nation's breadbasket and other rural areas. Cluster 19 has a more easterly distribution and shows peak indices for large families with school-age children, headed by blue collar craftsmen, operatives, and transport workers with high school educations. Cluster 19s are dedicated outdoorspeople.
R1/T3 28 24 43 51 —
Campers & Camo T3 — — — — 51
Suburban Pioneers S4 — — — 52 —
Military Quarters — — 40 — —
Mobility Blues C3 — — 41 53 —
Gray Collars — — 42 — —
Latino America — — 44 — —
Agri-Business
1980s:Small towns surrounded by large-scale farms and ranches.
R1 29 26 45 — —
Mid-City Mix C — — 46 — —
Blue Highways R — — 47 — —
Rustic Elders R — — 48 — —
Smalltown Downtown

1980s:Class 18 - inner-city districts of small industrial cities
A hudred-odd years ago our nation was laced with railroads and booming heavy industry. All along these tracks, factory towns sprang up to be filled with laborers, in working-class row-house neighborhoods Many can be seen today in Cluster 18, mixed with the aging, downtown portions of other minor cities and towns.
C — 32 49 — —
Rural Industria — — 50 — —
Emergent Minorities

Emergent Minorities

1980s:Class 14 - Predominantly black, working class city neighborhoods
Cluster 14 is almost 70% black, the remainder largely composed of Hispanic and other foreign-born minorities. Cluster 14 shows above-average concentrations for children of all ages, almost half of them in homes with single parents. It also shows below-average levels of education and white collar employment. The struggle for emergence from poverty is still evident in Cluster 14.
U2 33 27 — — —
Multi-Culti Mosaic U2 — — — 54 42
Urban Modern Mix U3 — — — — 45
Single City Blues

Single City Blues

1980s:Cluster 26 - Downscale, urban, singles districts
This cluster represents the nations dense, urban downscale singles areas, found in most major markets, including those of the new West. Many are located near city colleges, and the cluster displays a bimodal education profile. With very few children, and its off mixture of races, classes, transients, and night trades, Cluster 26 could be aptly described as "poor man's Bohemia."
U2 — 28 51 — —
Metro Grads S4 — — — — 50
Norma Rae-Ville

Norma Rae-Ville

1980s:Cluster 13 - Lower-middle-class mill towns and industrial suburbs
Cluster 13s are concentrated in the South, with their geo-center in the Appalachian & Piedmont regions. They include hundreds of industrial suburbs and mill towns, a great many in textiles, and other light industries. Cluster 13s are country folk with minimal educations.
T3 26 31 54 — —
Mines & Mills

Mines & Mills

1980s:Cluster 22 - Struggling steel towns and mining villages.
Industry, both light and heavy, is king in Cluster 22. Cluster 22 gathers hundreds of mining and mill towns scattered throughout Appalachia, from New England to the Pennsylvania/Ohio industrial complex, and points south. It ranks first in total manufacturing and blue-collar occupations. It has very few black or Hispanic minorities.
T3 24 29 56 — —
Mutli-Culti Families U3 — — — — 56
Golden Ponds
1980s:Rustic cottage communities located near the coasts, mountains or lakes.
T3/T4 — 25 38 55 58
Small-town Collegiates T4 — — — — 60
Crossroads Villagers T4 — — — 56 62
Old Milltowns T4 — — — 57 —
Back Country Folks

Back Country Folks

1980s:Cluster 10 - Remote, downscale farm towns
Cluster 10 abounds in remote rural towns, geo-centered in Ozark and Appalachian uplands. It is predominantly white, and leads the nation in concentration of persons of English ancestry, some of whom are the descendants of original colonial settlers and still speak in Elizabethan dialect.
1990s:Cluster 60 - Remote Rural/Town Families
Centered in the Eastern uplands, Cluster 60 cuts a wide swath from the Pennsylvania Poconos to the Arkansas Ozarks. These are the most blue-collar neighborhoods in America. Centered in the Bible Belt, folks in these neighborhoods enjoy Christian and country music.
2000s:Cluster 58 - Low Income, Mature Mostly w/o Kids
Strewn among remote farm communities across the nation, Back Country Folks are a long way away from economic paradise. The residents tend to be poor, over 65 years old, and living in older, modest-sized homes and manufactured housing. Typically, life in this segment is a throwback to an earlier era when farming dominated the American landscape.
2010s:Cluster 57 - Downscale Older Mostly without Kids
Strewn among remote farm communities across the nation, Back Country Folks are a long way away from economic paradise. The residents have below average incomes and live in older, modest-sized homes and manufactured housing. Typically, life in this segment is a throwback to an earlier era when farming dominated the American landscape.
R2/T4 37 30 53 58 57
Urban Elders U3/U2 — — — 59 17
Park Bench Seniors C3 — — — 60 67
City Roots U3 — — — 61 43
Hometown Retired C3/T3 — — 52 62 38
Family Thrifts C3 — — — 63 64
Young & Rustic T4 — — — — 65
Bedrock America T4 — — — 64 68
Grain Belt
1980s:The nation's most sparsely populated rural communities.
R1 30 33 57 — —
Heavy Industry

Heavy Industry

1980s:Cluster 4 - Lower-working-class districts in nation's older industrial cities
Cluster 4 is like Cluster 2 [Rank & File], only nine rungs down on the socioeconomic scale, and hard hit by unemployment. Cluster 4s are chiefly concentrated in the older industrial markets of the northeastern U.S. quadrant and are very Catholic, with a high incidence of Hispanic persons. These neighborhoods have rapidly aged and deteriorated during the past decade. There are fewer children, and many broken homes.
U3 21 34 — — —
Ethnic Row Houses
1970s:downscale industrial areas
U3 32 — — — —
Dixie-Style Tenements U3 34 — — — —
Downtown Dixie Style

Downtown Dixie Style

1980s:Cluster 11 - Aging, predominantly black neighborhoods, typically in southern cities.
Cluster 11 has a southern geo-center, with high concentrations in three dozen southern metros. These middle-density urban areas contain both white and black enclaves, the latter replete with black churches and colleges (and average college enrollments). On the whole, Cluster 11 is half black, with an average incidence for Hispanics (these mostly Puerto Rican).
U3 — 36 — — —
Urban Renewal U3 35 — — — —
Share Croppers
1980s:Primarily southern hamlets devoted to farming and light industry.
R2 38 35 — — —Some moved to Scrub Pine Flats
Tobacco Roads

Tobacco Roads

1980s:Cluster 15 - Predominantly black farm communities throughout the South.
Cluster 15 is found throughout the South from Virginia to Texas. However, its greatest concentrations are seen in the river basins and coastal, scrub-pine flat lands of the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Gulf States Clusters. Cluster 15 is half black, and a fifth English stock. There is some light industry, but poor unskilled labor predominates. Still dependent on agriculture, Cluster 15 ranks last in white-collar occupations.
R2 39 38 — — —Moved to Scrub Pine Flats
Scrub Pine Flats R — — 55 — —
Marlboro Country
1970s:midscale family farms
R2 36 — — — —
Hard Scrabble

ClusterName

1980s:Cluster 6 - The nation's poorest rural areas.
The term "hard scrabble" is an old phrase meaning to scratch a hard living from hard soil. Cluster 6 represents our poorest rural areas, from Appalachia to the Ozarks, Mexican-border country, and Dakota Bad Lands. With very few blacks, Cluster 6 leads the nation in native Americans (including many Indian reservations) and shows a high index for both Mexican and English ancestries.
1990s:Cluster 62 - Older Families in Poor Isolated Areas
Scratching a living from hard soil describes those who live in our poorest rural areas. Reaching from Appalachia to the Colorado Rockies and from the Texas border to the Dakota badlands, life is hard for Cluster 62 folks. Mining occupations and chewing tobacco show the highest indices in Hard Scrabble.
R2 40 39 58 — —
Family Scrabble — — 59 — —
Hispanic Mix

Hispanic Mix

1980s:Cluster 9 - America's Hispanic barrios
Cluster 9 represents the nation's Hispanic "barrios," and is therefore chiefly concentrated in the major markets of the mid-Atlantic and West. Cluster 9s are feature dense, row-house neighborhoods with large families of small children, many headed by solo parents. They rank second in percent-foreign-born, first in short-term immigration, and are essentially bilingual neighborhoods.
1990s:Cluster 46 - Urban Hispanic Singles and Families
The bilingual barrios concentrated in the Southwest, the Atlantic metro corridor, Texas, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles, are home to Cluster 46. Large families with lots of small children live in these neighborhoods. They rank second in the percentage of foreign-born and first in transient immigration.
U3 31 37 60 — —
Public Assistance
1980s:America's inner-city ghettos.
U3 — 40 — — —
Inner Cities U — — 61 — —
Big City Blues U3 — — — 65 —
Low Rise Living U3 — — — 66 63
Southside City C — — 62 — —
Total Clusters 4040626668
Sources:

And some observations: