{"id":556882,"date":"2022-11-21T05:43:50","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T13:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=556882"},"modified":"2024-05-10T05:25:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T12:25:59","slug":"a-shifting-population-center-puts-analytics-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/a-shifting-population-center-puts-analytics-in-the-spotlight","title":{"rendered":"A Shifting Population Center Puts Analytics in the Spotlight"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[482812,11272,281,671,1331],"department":[488812],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-556882","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-consumers","tag-demographics","tag-location-intelligence","tag-routing","tag-supply-chain","department-emerging-technologies"],"acf":{"short_description":"The US population center has moved southwest again\u2014location intelligence reveals key insights behind the statistic.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Imagine 330 million identical marbles placed on a rigid map of the United States, each corresponding to the precise location of one resident. The point on which the map can balance perfectly without losing any marbles is the nation\u2019s population center. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/news-release\/noaa-census-mark-new-us-center-of-population\">Based on 2020 census data<\/a>, that point is next to a creek in the Missouri Ozarks, 14 miles outside the town of Hartville (pop. 600)."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"<strong>Article snapshot:<\/strong> The official announcement of the US population center is a once-in-a-decade snapshot of where the country is moving. Business execs can\u2019t wait that long.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/visualizations\/2020\/geo\/center-of-population-1790-2020.html\">map charting the population center\u2019s progression<\/a>\u2014starting on Maryland\u2019s Eastern Shore in 1790, with big leaps west in the mid-19th century, a slight northerly drift during Reconstruction, and a 20th century southwesterly slide toward the Sunbelt\u2014offers a concise social history of the country.\r\n\r\nThe decennial unveiling of the population center is a small example of what data analysis can reveal about the country. Business executives depend on a deeper form of analysis for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/location-intelligence\">location intelligence<\/a> that helps them decide where to invest and how to outmaneuver competitors. The speed and granularity of that insight have improved markedly in recent years, driven by advances in geographic information system (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/enterprise-technology-behind-big-business-decisions\/\">GIS<\/a>) technology.\r\n<h3><strong>Examining Population Centers in Real Time\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCompanies now have access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/big-data-geospatial-tools-reveal-human-mobility\/\">anonymized movement data<\/a> from cell phones and other mobile devices, often in near real time. Projected onto GIS-powered maps and dashboards, this data yields detailed insight into where various types of consumers prefer to access products and services.\r\n\r\nThe COVID-19 pandemic heightened interest in real-time movement analysis, as researchers sought to answer questions such as where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.covid19mobility.org\/\">social distancing<\/a> directives were most effective.\r\n\r\nBusinesses are increasingly adopting a similar form of location intelligence to answer questions related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/nexttech-mapping-human-weather-patterns-with-geospatial-analysis\/\">\u201chuman weather.\"<\/a> A business considering sites for a store can analyze travel patterns in a city to get a sense of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3mSCd9QObko&amp;t=1058s\">reachability<\/a>\u2014the distance customers are likely to travel to a location by car, bike, foot, or public transit. GIS technology analyzes those queries with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/artificial-intelligence\/overview\">artificial intelligence<\/a> that detects patterns and hot spots in large amounts of data."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>The Granular View<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nUnlike the population center concept, in which every marble is the same except for its location, companies must understand countless variations in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/data\/data-portfolio\/demographics\">demographics and even psychographics<\/a> to find likely customers. But some still take a high-level view of their audience, despite what the data offers\u2014a phenomenon noted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/stephen-roach-canvas-worldwide-profile\/\">a recent <em>WhereNext<\/em> article<\/a>:"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"[Retail analyst Stephen] Roach considers that a common unforced error, since location intelligence can help companies dig deeper and compare the diverse preferences of people within a ZIP code or even one section of a city. Flooding a large [market] with one-size-fits-all messaging for a product or an issue is not an efficient or particularly effective way to spend marketing budget, Roach says."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"The anonymized quality of movement data and the analytical capabilities of GIS unleash insight from massive stores of data, helping companies connect with customers interested in their services. With that insight, Roach could show clients precisely which demographic groups frequented the area around their stores\u2014as well as which customer types visited competitors\u2019 locations."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":556902,"text":"Location intelligence is the insight gained from a careful analysis of spatial relationships. Since most data has a location component, location intelligence is a way to study many variables and how they interact in the world.","author_name":"","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Location Intelligence for Smart Routing <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe same technology that shows companies where customers and goods are located also helps identify better methods for getting them where they need to be. This form of location intelligence has become especially valuable over the last few years with the massive increase in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/advice-from-a-retail-leader-seven-steps-to-post-covid-success\/\">retail e-commerce<\/a> and recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/covid-19-and-supply-chains\/\">supply chain disruptions<\/a>. Many companies have used GIS to make routing more cost-effective and to pinpoint <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/gm-maps-supply-chain-risk\/\">supply chain trouble spots<\/a>. Such analyses factor in traditional goals like speed and efficiency while accounting for more nuanced business considerations like customer preferences and service availability.\r\n\r\nOne health services company that offers home visits used location intelligence to improve the way its nurse practitioners and physician assistants were assigned to patients. Although the primary objectives were to minimize travel time and increase productivity, those weren\u2019t the only factors.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are not a delivery product\u2014we focus on human interactions,\u201d the company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/healthcare-delivery-optimization\/\">vice president of analytics<\/a> told <em>WhereNext<\/em>. His team of analysts used GIS to design an automated routing system that understood, for example, whether a patient preferred a male or female clinician, rather than just determining which care provider was closest.\r\n\r\nFor companies analyzing home visits, global supply chains, or spending patterns across demographic groups, GIS provides a nuanced view of customers and processes. With population shifts occurring not just once a decade but every day, companies with the right form of location intelligence stand to make smart decisions at the right time."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The US Population Center Moves Southwest Again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The US population center has moved farther southwest\u2014a curious fact that hides deeper layers of location intelligence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/a-shifting-population-center-puts-analytics-in-the-spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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