Comprehensive Findings on Jacksonville, Florida

Comprehensive Findings on Jacksonville, Florida

Michael Lewis

February 7, 2017

Table of Contents:

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Overview of Subject City  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Analysis of Population Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Analysis of Data including Dependency Ratio & Location Quotients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Analysis of Economic Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Introduction

            As a partner in this business venture, it was tasked to myself to gather data to help us make an informed decision regarding investing in the city of Jacksonville, Florida. This report is intended to inform each party on the realities of Jacksonville, and its layout. With this data, it will become apparent as to which path will be the most financially successful. Ideas that have been brought to the table include our target consumers to be associated with the growing population, to target consumers that are part of the large cohort of retirement aged residents, and lastly, to target the area’s surging Hispanic population. While all are sound avenues to go down, we have to limit ourselves to only one target audience. Examining values of population, age, ethnicity, and industry will help in the process of finding our result. Questions this sets out to answer include which group would be best fitted to our investment, and how can we make the most of our investment. While this report goes into depth regarding the options first stated it does not cover other subjects like other age groups or ethnic groups.

Overview:

            Jacksonville, Florida is located along the East coast of the state of Florida. Found in the top of the state, its closest other cities include St. Augustine to the south and Lake City to the west. Jacksonville is within driving distance of Florida’s border with Georgia. A city of 846,951 people, Jacksonville is Florida’s largest city and largest metropolitan area. With a vast spread of age groups populating the city, target audiences are plenty. Additionally, Jacksonville boast a diverse range of ethnic groups, including a large Hispanic/Latino presence. Jacksonville contains only slightly more females than males, 51% to 49% respectively.

Population Statistics:

*per the United States Census Bureau

            By analyzing the data presented in the above chart, several clear patterns emerge. First, overall, Jacksonville’s population growth is stable, with consistent grow for the past two decades. Secondly, the city has an even ratio of men to women. Next, the city appears to have a disproportionally large group of residents ranging from their 20’s to mid 30’s. Additionally, while the numbers of retirement-aged residents is the lowest of all, those numbers will grow drastically as the large group of 45-65 year olds approach retirement. Lastly, the beginnings of a surge in youth is evident in the past 15 years of steady growth. This seems to be an echo from the large child bearing group.

Data:

	Total Population	Total Pop. 0 -14	Percent Pop.    0-14	Total Pop. 65+	Percent Pop. 65+	Total Hispanic Pop.	Percent Hispanic Pop.	Total White Pop.	Percent White Pop.
Jacksonville	846,923	166,136	19.62%	102,485	12.1%	72,338	8.54%	508,704	60.06%
Duval County	890,673	171,899	19.3%	10,866	12.2%	74,775	8.39%	547,556	61.48%
Florida	19,645,772	3,339,781	17%	3.634,467	18.5%	4,660,733	23.72%	14934702	76.02%
United States	316515021	61087399	19.3%	44312102	14%	54232205	17.13%	232943055	73.6%

  *per the United States Census Bureau

LQ (Pop. 0-14)            Jacksonville = 1.02      County = 1.0         State = 0.88

                        19.62/19.3=1.02          19.3/19.3=1.0    17/19.3=0.88

LQ (Pop. 65.+)            Jacksonville = 0.86      County = 0.87       State = 1.32

                        12.1/14=0.86              12.2/14=0.87      18.5/14=1.32

LQ (Hispanic) Jacksonville = 0.50      County = 0.49        State = 1.38

                        8.54/17.13=0.50           8.39/17.13=0.49     23.72/17.13=1.38

LQ (White)      Jacksonville = 0.82      County = 0.84        State = 1.03

                        60.06/73.6=0.82           61.48/73.6=0.84     76.02/73.6=1.03

            As you can see from the data shown, Jacksonville, Duval County, and the state of Florida all have strengths and weaknesses when compared to the rest of the United States. Shown in the data, it is easy to see that Jacksonville has less of each category than the rest of the U.S. except for Population from 0-14 years old. Jacksonville actually has more than the average in the U.S. Duval County is just the same, with its 0-14 population right on track with the U.S. The State of Florida, however; is the opposite. It has fewer youths, and more retirees, Hispanics, and White than the average makeup of the U.S. This is important, as the group of Hispanics is large, and seemingly growing, proving to be a great business opportunity.

Data Continued:

Dependency Ratios:

	Male	Female	Total
P0-14	84804.381	81331.85	166136.229
P65+	43016.715	59468.45	102485.163
P15-64	282271.587	296030.4	578302.023

*per the United States Census Bureau

DR = 100 * (166136.229 + 102485.163) / 578302.023

Jacksonville, Florida Dependency Ratio = 46.45

DR = 100 * (3339781.24 + 3634467.82) / 12632231.4

State of Florida Dependency Ratio = 55.21

In comparison, Jacksonville has less dependents than the Florida average. Additionally, it shows us that in Jacksonville, the majority of the city is made up by working age residence.  This would both make one avoid a business venture on youths, and want a business venture aimed at retirees, as the market for it in the future is large. With this knowledge, I would consider staying away from a youth target audience.

Analysis of Economic Characteristics:

Service Industries - State	Percent of total state Industries	Service Industries – Jacksonville	Percent of total Jacksonville Service Industries	Jacksonville location quotient
1.     Finance	7.7%	1. Finance	11.6%	1.51
2.     Professional	12.7%	2. Professional	12.5%	.98
3.     Educational	21.3%	3. Educational	20.5%	.96
4.     Arts	12.2%	4. Arts	10.1%	.83
5.     Other	5.4%	5. Other	4.9%	.91
6.     Public Administration	4.6%	6. Public Administration	4.9%	1.07

  *per the United States Census Bureau

            As shown in the table above, Jacksonville presents specific business opportunities based on its divisions of service industries. Most notably, Jacksonville has considerable amounts in Professional and Education Industries, making up roughly 30% of all service industries. Additionally, according to the location quotient, Jacksonville has substantially more of a Finance industry present than the rest of the state.

Recommendation:

            Based upon the research and data presented above, I would argue to invest in a business plan aimed at the 65 and over crowd. As shown by the dependency ratio, it is easy to see that the majority of residences are in the working ages of 15-64. While the amounts of retirees currently are a small minority, the potential for success and longevity warrant action in this direction. Looking at the population pyramid, the vast majority of residents are on the verge of retirement. This is not only the safest, but also probably the most fruitful in the future.

            I chose not to pick the populations of young children because, while it was evident that that age group has been steadily been growing, it appeared only to be an echo to the boom in residents of 20-35. Additionally, as Millennials steadily reach child bearing years, it has been understood that tendencies are changing, and the younger generations are waiting longer to have children, and when they finally do, they have fewer kids than historically normal. This uncertainty in the future lead to it being a higher risk business opportunity that I was not willing it take when a better option was presented.

            I chose not to pick the surging Hispanic population as a route to our investment as while I agree it is growing, I fear that it is not large enough to make a substantial profit off of. Additionally, when looking at the Location Quotient for Hispanics in Jacksonville, it concerned me to see that Jacksonville has nearly a half of the normal amounts of Hispanics in the U.S. This was enough to understand that while the thought is there, it is not a viable option for our project.

            It is clear that an investment in the 65+ age group would be most financially sound, and profitable. It is my recommendation to do so, on the basis of the findings of this report.