Population and Cultural Analysis of Jacksonville, Florida

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Purpose and Methodology

The purpose of this study is to analyze Jacksonville, Florida’s population structure and the overall cultural and service sectors of the city. This information can then be used for BK Investments to make a geographically-informed decision on which businesses or industries in which to invest.

All data was obtained from the US Census Bureau from estimates of 2015 population data. Population data obtained was then transferred to Microsoft Excel to produce a population pyramid for population analysis. For calculated dependency ratios, percent Hispanic/White, location quotients, and percent of service industries, data for Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, and the US was observed from the US Census Bureau website and calculated.

Findings and Conclusions

Based on the findings of the population structure and cultural and service sectors of Jacksonville, FL, the following conclusions can be made:

• The high percentage in the finance industry in Jacksonville’s economy compared to the state and national average suggest there are a vast number of competitive financial firms in the area
• The population structure as indicated by Figures 1 and 2, show a clustering population at the 20-30 range and an echo beginning to form with newborn babies
• Although nationally, the Hispanic population is rising and Florida has a higher-than-average Hispanic population compared to the US, Jacksonville itself is under half the national average
• Although Florida is known for retiree migration, Jacksonville again finds itself the exception with a below state and national average in the elderly dependency ratio.

Recommendations for Business Investment

After considering the findings and conclusions drawn on Jacksonville, FL, the following recommendations can be made for an informed business investment:

• Successful businesses of the same industry tend to cluster in one area, and the staggering percentage of financial firms in Jacksonville provides a good selection of profitable firms to invest money
• Investing in financial firms, compared to the baby industry, has a far greater capacity of earning higher profits
• Perhaps with a large population of 20-30 year-olds and a high percentage of people working in the financial sector, an investment in high-end retail companies that sell professional clothing would be a worthwhile investment
• With an echo-effect of newborn babies, a less risky and slightly less profitable investment could be made in the baby-related industries such as toy companies, diaper providers, and daycares
• Capitalizing on a rising Hispanic population, especially true to Florida, does not seem wise for the city of Jacksonville and related businesses should be avoided
• Capitalizing on the cycle of elderly migrants to Florida should also be avoided in Jacksonville due to its below-average statistics in the elderly population.

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to analyze Jacksonville, Florida’s population structure and the overall cultural and service sectors of the city. This information can then be used for BK Investments to make a geographically-informed decision on which businesses or industries in which to invest. 

Scope of Study

This study investigates:

• population structure of Jacksonville
• dependency ratios for the youth and elderly
• total Hispanic and White populations
• economic service sectors

and compares this data to its county (Duval), the state of Florida, and to the US.

The scope of this study was limited to US Census Data estimates for the year of 2015, which typically held an accuracy of 98-99%. Due to time constraints, ethnic data for the cultural sector was only collected for Hispanic and White populations. For similar reasons, only six categories were used to analyze the economic service sectors. 

Sources and Methodology

All data was obtained from the US Census Bureau from estimates of 2015 population data. Population data obtained was then transferred to Microsoft Excel to produce a population pyramid for population analysis. Percentages of total male and female numbers for age categories were made into a diverging horizontal bar graph. For calculated dependency ratios, percent Hispanic/White, location quotients, and percent of service industries, data for Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, and the US was observed from the US Census Bureau website and calculated.

To find total population, dependency ratios, and percentage of Hispanic/White populations found in Figure 2, the number for each was divided by the total number of that region. For example, the total population of ages 0-14 for Florida (166,002) would be divided by the total population of Jacksonville (846,951) to produce a percentage of population aged 0-14 in Jacksonville (19.6). The same was done for the county, state and nation data.

To calculate the location quotients in Figure 3, the data for each category in Jacksonville, Duval, and Florida was each separately divided by the nation’s data for that category. The same methodology was used for Figure 4 to find location quotients of service sectors.  

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the findings of the population structure and cultural and service sectors of Jacksonville, FL, the following conclusions can be made:

• The high percentage in the finance industry in Jacksonville’s economy compared to the state and national average suggest there are a vast number of competitive financial firms in the area
• The population structure as indicated by Figures 1 and 2, show a clustering population at the 20-30 range and an echo beginning to form with newborn babies
• Although nationally, the Hispanic population is rising and Florida has a higher-than-average Hispanic population compared to the US, Jacksonville itself is under half the national average
• Although Florida is known for retiree migration, Jacksonville again finds itself the exception with a below state and national average in the elderly dependency ratio.

RECOMMENDATIONS

After considering the findings and conclusions drawn on Jacksonville, FL, the following recommendations can be made for an informed business investment:

• Successful businesses of the same industry tend to cluster in one area, and the staggering percentage of financial firms in Jacksonville provides a good selection of profitable firms to invest money
• Investing in financial firms, compared to the baby industry, has a far greater capacity of earning higher profits
• Perhaps with a large population of 20-30 year-olds and a high percentage of people working in the financial sector, an investment in high-end retail companies that sell professional clothing would be a worthwhile investment
• With an echo-effect of newborn babies, a less risky and slightly less profitable investment could be made in the baby-related industries such as toy companies, diaper providers, and daycares
• Capitalizing on a rising Hispanic population, especially true to Florida, does not seem wise for the city of Jacksonville and related businesses should be avoided
• Capitalizing on the cycle of elderly migrants to Florida should also be avoided in Jacksonville due to its below-average statistics in the elderly population.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The findings of this study are presented into two categories:

• The population structure
• The cultural and service sectors.

The first of which will present a population pyramid and the following, calculated dependency ratios and location quotients. Discussions for each will follow each figure.

Population Structure

From the data gathered from the US Census Bureau, Figure 1 shows the resulting population pyramid representing the overall population structure of Jacksonville, Florida.

Figure 1

Jacksonville, like the rest of the nation, exhibits a larger population than expected around the 50-65 range because of the baby boomers—a result of returning troops from World War II.  Beyond that, a clear uprising of population exists at the 20-30 range. From 10-20, the population then drastically decreases, but then again begins increasing at the under 5 range. This can be viewed as an echo effect from the large population of 20-30 year-olds who are in the prime age of reproduction. The number of newborn babies in the next couple of years would be expected to grow as the echo effect comes full cycle.

Cultural and Service Sectors

To further understand the population of Jacksonville, Florida, additional cultural data was collected and shown in Figure 2. Cultural data includes total population, dependency ratios for the youth and elderly, and Hispanic and White population numbers for Jacksonville, its county (Duval), state (Florida), and the US.

Figure 2

As indicated above, the dependency ratio for both the youth and elderly falls below the US average. Similarly, the total ethnic populations of Hispanics and Whites also falls below the nation’s average. Although Florida itself holds a reputation for and tallies well above the US average for elderly citizens and Hispanic population, the city of Jacksonville is an exception to the state average. Differently from the Florida average, Jacksonville holds a higher dependency ratio for the youth. Finally, with a well-below state and national average for Hispanic and White population, other ethnicities such as African American, Asian, or Native American are likely to reside in Jacksonville.

To better envision Jacksonville, Duval, and Florida compared to the nation’s average, Figure 3 shows the location quotient compared to that of the US average for youth and elderly dependency ratios and Hispanic and White population numbers.

Figure 3

Just as the discussion following Figure 2 stated, the youth dependency ratio for Jacksonville is considerably higher than that of Florida, and the elderly dependency ratio and Hispanic/White populations are well under Florida’s average, as well as the nation’s average. Now that the population and cultural data of Jacksonville has been examined, an economic understanding should be made before investment.

Figure 4 gives an economic understanding of Jacksonville by evaluating the percentage of total industry for six major industries and compares it to the state of Florida and the US average by obtaining a location quotient.

Figure 4

As shown by Figure 4, for the most part Jacksonville’s percentage of industry remains fairly consistent with Florida’s and the US percentage besides the finance industry. With a staggering 1.76 location quotient compared to the US, Jacksonville has a well-above average percentage in the finance sector. 

REFERENCES

Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). "American FactFinder." U.S. Census Bureau.

Accessed February 07, 2017. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.