The Affluent

American Demographics, Dec 1, 2002

If there's any market that can be considered mass high-end, this is it: Members of the 10 million households that earn between $100,000 and $199,999. Although this is just a small sliver of all U.S. households, it's gigantic compared to the 2 million households in which earnings are $200,000 or more.

The nation's traditional money centers are home to a large share of the affluent. According to Census 2000, San Francisco led the way - 21 percent of households in the Bay Area had annual earnings between $100,000 and $199,999. These figures were helped by the large share of Asians who live in the Bay Area, and also were boosted by the dotcom bubble. In the wake of the dotcom collapse, whether San Francisco is still the top metro in this category remains to be seen.

Even though the affluent are a relatively smaller group, and are fairly homogenous demographically (the majority are white, and a large share are between the ages of 45 and 54), psychographic segmentation is even more critical here, says Catherine D'Azevedo, vice president and media director of The Leslie Agency, a Greenville, S.C.-marketing firm.

"In targeting the affluent, in particular, it's more important to find a message that resonates specifically with them," D'Azevedo says. For one of her clients, the Cliffs Communities - an upscale real estate development near Greenville, where lots can run upwards of $500,000 - she tailored two campaigns to reach two distinct groups of affluent consumers. To reach what she calls "Range Rover Rustics," affluent consumers who respond to images of nature and the concept of wellness, the agency created ads that played up the natural surroundings of the community and its on-site wellness center, running an effective campaign in Body and Soul magazine. To reach members of a group she calls "Captains of Industry," who would be more inclined to buy property in the community because of its golf amenities, ads ran in Worth magazine and The Wall Street Journal. When it comes to million dollar homes, every sale counts.

TOP 50 METROS: $100,000 TO $199,999

The nation's largest metros are home to large shares of people earning between $100,000 and $199,999 annually. The San Francisco metro was home to the largest share of affluent households, according to Census 2000, but the dotcom crash may change that for the next census.

ASIAN ASCENSION

Whites are still more likely to be affluent than most minority groups, and most minority groups are underrepresented among the affluent. The exception: Asian Americans. They account for 5 percent of all households earning $100,000 to $199,999, though they make up just 3 percent of all households in the country.