And though you may consider yourself a rugged individualist, Claritas insists we all fit into one of 66 identifiable consumer groups. The company gives these groups clever names, like Young Influentials and Country Squires, and has discovered what each group drives, reads and buys and how they spend their leisure hours. Its customers, who pay a fee for Claritas’ research, use the information to sharpen their marketing, whether they’re aiming at the comfortable empty nesters called Middleburg Managers who drive Mercury Sables, drink Scotch and order from Readers Digest, or at another group of empty nesters, the Second City Elite, who drive new Mercedes, buy from the Home Shopping Network and prefer Miller Lite.

Claritas has studied every region in the country; its researchers agreed to give us a snapshot of how Sarasota and Manatee compare to the nation. They project that Manatee County’s 2007 population of 317,306 will grow much faster than the rest of the nation in the next five years (11.7 percent versus 4.6 percent). This rate of growth, however, is much slower than the 20.2 percent growth the county saw between 2000 and 2007. Manatee County’s population has a median age of 43, while the U.S. median is 36.5. In five years, the median age for both geographical areas will rise by one year. Manatee is 84.4 percent white compared to a national average of 73.1 percent. The Manatee Latino population is 12.4 percent compared to a U.S. figure of 14.9 percent. Average household income in Manatee is $62,104, while U.S. household income is $66,670. In five years Manatee’s household income is expected to rise 11.7 percent to $69,340; U.S. average household income will rise 10.6 percent. Almost 75 percent of homes in Manatee are owner occupied; the U.S. figure is 67.7 percent.

Consumer spending patterns in Manatee diverge from the U.S. pattern in several distinct categories. In general, Manatee residents spend less than the U.S. average when all categories are totaled. (Claritas puts the U.S. index for all consumer expenditures at 100 and compares each county’s patterns against that number; Manatee’s index for all consumer expenditures is 91.) Manatee consumers buy less clothing than the rest of the nation and spend far less on education (tuition, room and board)—not surprising, considering that many residents are retirees. Manatee folks also spend a lot less on snacks, nonalcoholic beverages, fuel and utilities, towing charges, and, in their own homes, juice and seafood. Claritas does not say if Manatee residents purchase more seafood in restaurants than the U.S. population, but in general Manatee residents do not spend as much eating out as the rest of the country. The category in which Manatee residents spend significantly more is healthcare, especially prescription drugs.

Claritas reports that Sarasota’s 2007 population of 378,581 is expected to grow 10 percent in the next five years, as opposed to the U.S. projected growth of 4.6 percent. (Sarasota’s growth from 2000 to 2007 was 16.1 percent.) The county’s population has a median age of 49.9, while the U.S. median is 36.5. Five years from now, the median age in Sarasota will rise to 51.8 and the U.S. median age will rise to 37.66. Sarasota is 91.3 percent white compared to a national percentage of 73.1. Sarasota’s Latino population makes up 6.7 percent of total population compared to a U.S. figure of 14.9 percent. Average household income in Sarasota is $70,126, while U.S. household income is $66,670. In five years, Sarasota’s household income is expected to rise 9.4 percent to $76,730. U.S. average household income will rise 10.6 percent. Approximately 80.1 percent of homes in Sarasota are owner occupied; the U.S. figure is 67.7 percent.
Sarasota residents spend a bit less than the U.S. average but more than Manatee residents spend. (Sarasota’s index for all consumer expenditures is 95, while Manatee’s is 91.) Sarasotans buy less clothing than the rest of the nation, especially boys’ and girls’ apparel, and spend far less on education (tuition, room and board). Sarasotans also spend a lot less on cereal, snacks, nonalcoholic beverages, fuel and utilities, towing charges and, in their own homes, juice and seafood. In general they do not spend as much in restaurants as the rest of the nation. Similar to their Manatee neighbors, Sarasota residents spend significantly more on healthcare, especially prescription drugs. They also spend more than the rest of the nation on household repairs, diesel fuel, rented vehicles, furniture and major appliances, and way more on personal expenses and services—think massages, facials and manicures and xxxx.personal banking?