The Market View Trends page is a tool which provides powerful data to give you actionable metrics and predictions.
When you first sign into Market View, you'll land on the Trends Page.
At the top of the page, you'll see some default settings. The query paragraph reads, "Showing data within: 30 minutes drive of my school at a $27,950 tuition level."
$27,950 is the median tuition for NAIS schools, so we use it as the default tuition level.
In Market View, all charts, graphs, tables, and maps are customized for your school.
Customize the drive time query (choose a ten minute increment between 10-60 minutes)
Customize the tuition level (input any dollar amount you'd like to research)
Customize the geographical center point of the search. Market View has rich data for any US location. The location defaults to your school's address.
To change the drive time query or the tuition level, click into those text fields and adjust. To change the geographic centerpoint of the query, click "Change" near the address in the upper right.
Or, feel free to proceed without any customization! This query paragraph will always be at the top of the page for you to experiment.
Depending on where your school is, you may have a lot of ZIP codes in proximity. Market View lets you filter the data and focus on the most impactful areas. Click on the "113 ZIP codes" text and you'll see a list of all the ZIPs included in your search, as well as their neighborhood names.
You can click on any ZIP in the list and Market View will bring you to a page with every data point we use for that ZIP.
You can also search in the dropdown menu to find a specific ZIP or name.
Click "all" to open a dropdown where you can select how many ZIPs you want to see.
Click "Distance". You'll have the option of choosing distance, children, median income, or diversity.
For instance, you can elect to display only the 20 closest ZIPs, or the 30 highest income ZIPs, etc.
If you make selections using these filters, all other ZIPs will be hidden from the map and the data.
Don't be surprised to see a map with a lot of holes in it! The map below shows the thirty ZIPs (in blue) with the most children within an hour of the NAIS office.
Let's move on to the results!
Look below the query paragraph in the blue header, and you'll see the Overview tab highlighted.
The Overview tab has three topics: Population Data, Income Data, and Diversity Data.
If you look to the right side of the page, you'll see a multicolored map. This map is called a choropleth (core-o-pleth).
A choropleth map is a type of statistical thematic map that uses intensity of color to correspond with an aggregate summary of a geographic characteristic within spatial enumeration units.
In our case, the choropleth represents total school-age population. Each shape outlined in gray is a ZIP code. The darkest blue shapes are ZIPs with the most children, and the light green ZIPs have the fewest children.
You'll see header text above the map. That's the title of the map, and also displays the data reflected in the map and the charts below. For example, "Total School-Age Population by ZIP Code within a 30-Minute drive of Washington, DC 20036-3425".
You'll also see a "Download" button with icon. Clicking this button will download the map exactly as shown. Before downloading, make sure to adjust your settings and parameters so that the map will show the data you need. Alternatively, you can screenshot the map if you like that better.
On the map, there is shape with a double blue line. This is called an isochrone (ice-oh-crone).
An isochrone map is a map that depicts the a time parameter. Market View's isochrones portray an area accessible from a point within a certain time threshold.
By our estimates, anyone living within the area bounded by the double blue lines can commute to your school within the travel time you specified. You'll see these isochrones throughout the various pages of Market View.
At the top of the map, there is a dropdown selector. The default selection is "Total School-Age Population". Market View defines School-Age Population as 0-18. Click that menu, and you'll see other options. Selecting a different option will cause the map colors to change, reflecting the new values you've chosen.
If you hover your mouse over a ZIP on the map, you'll see a small white box appear in the upper right corner of the map. In the screenshot below, the user is hovering over Riverdale and so the box in the upper right shows the value Riverdale has for the selected value. In this case, "Enrolled PK-12 Private Schools".
In the box in the upper right, "20737" is the ZIP Code, "Riverdale" is the locality name, and "619" is the number of children in that ZIP enrolled in PK-12 Private Schools.
Lastly, there is a gradated color scale below the map on the right. This scale shows the colors that reflect the minimum and maximum values, and their representative colors.
Let's scroll down past the map.
You'll see a table titled Population Data. This tabular layout is probably familiar to you. Feel free to paste it into your spreadsheet editor of choice. From there you can make any custom charts or graphs you need, beyond the graphics available in Market View.
All tabular data in Market View is copy and pastable into a spreadsheet.
Read more about how and where we get our data.
At the bottom of the page, you'll find suggestions for next steps. These suggestions are intended to help you make the most of Market View, on your own or as discussion questions with your team.
The Income Data subtab empowers you to analyze median income in your area.
You'll notice the title for the map is "Family Median Income by ZIP Code within a XX-Minute drive of YY Location".
Let's break this down!
Family is a census designated descriptor. It is distinct from household. Two unmarried adults are a household. Two married adults are a family. A single adult with a biological child is a family. The census considers people living together with a blood or marriage bond a family. Otherwise, it's a household. Two unmarried adults are a household until they have a child, and then they are considered a family.
You'll notice we use both designations in different places in Market View. Family income cuts off at $500,000, after that it is grouped into "$500k and over". Household income has granularity up to $750,000, after that it is grouped into "$750k and over".
Unless otherwise specified, "Family" in Market View also means "Families with children". Children are people aged 0-18.
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income.
The Diversity Data subtab offers an overview of the racial and ethnic breakdown within the selected rive-time parameter, set above.
Remember, if you are ever unsure about the information being displayed, the titles are a great place to start. Here, you'll see that the title of the map is "Total Population by ZIP Code within a XX minute drive of YY location."
This tab makes use of all of the functionality previously discussed in this guide- change the variable displayed in the choropleth map to view densities of a specific group, download the map, and view tabular data with five-year projections below.
Wait! What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
The Census considers race and ethnicity to be distinct concepts.
Race refers to the way a person self identifies with social group(s). The Census offers White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, or some other race groupings. Participants can also report multiple races.
Ethnicity focuses on whether a person is of Hispanic origin or not.
Below the query paragraph in the left side navigation, check out the Affordability tab next.
The Affordability tab offers Summary, Median, High Income, Distribution, and Race/Ethnicity, and Change in Average sub tabs.
In the Summary tab, you'll have the opportunity to set query parameters- select a drive time in ten-minute increments up to an hour, and enter a tuition level.
You'll notice the default tuition setting is $27,950- this is the NAIS median tuition across all member schools. Update this parameter by typing your school's tuition level. If your school uses stepped-tuition, try viewing each different level or your school's average tuition with a few keystrokes.
In the Summary tab see an insight paragraph outlining ability to pay within the selected drive time at the designated tuition level.
Ability to pay is one lens through which school leaders can assess their market.
You'll see the income Market View estimates a family will need to earn to afford the entered tuition level at full-freight. The tool aggregates and crunches data from hundreds of thousands of financial aid applications submitted through the SSS application to make this determination. Based on the incomes reported by the Census in your area, Market View also provides an estimate of the proportion of households in your area earning this much within your designated drive time.
A good rule of thumb is that more than 15% of your market should be earning as much to avoid affordability strain in your admissions funnel.
"Right fit" families exist in all income bands. Market View offers a breakdown of the income needed to afford a spectrum of tuition contributions - from partial pay to full pay, as well as estimates about how much of the market earns each income level, in the breakdown below.
As always, this data can be copy & pasted into any spreadsheet editor, or downloaded via csv.
Below, you'll see the Financial Gap and Expected Household Contribution by Income Band.
This chart illustrates how much a families earning income in bands from <$25k to over $500K annually might be expected to pay and how much aid would be needed at the selected tuition level, according to data from hundreds of thousands of financial aid applications submitted through SSS.
The Median tab demonstrates the true center of incomes in the market indicated by your selected drive time, and compares these numbers with national median incomes. The chart shows 10 years of historical data, as well as five year projections, indicated by dotted lines, to help you see trends. Clicking the circles in the legend below the chart will toggle data on/off- this will help filter your data quickly, if you'd rather focus on national or local data.
Unlike calculations of average income, median income data is not skewed by large outliers- households making exceptionally high or low incomes.
Below, you'll see the five highest earning ZIPs within your drive time. Do these align with your anecdotal understanding of your market?
The High Income tab shows the number of families earning $200K or more in your selected drive time in the last ten years, with five-year projections included in dotted lines.
The Distribution tab breaks out the number and proportion of households in your selected drivetime across income bands. Income bands are grouped in increments of $25k. Remember that a household income reflects all individuals at the same address, and they might not be related by blood, marriage, or adoption, unlike groups under the Census designation of family.
The Census provides more nuanced income information for households, allowing us to display incomes over $500K with more detail in the chart.
The chart shows the proportion and number of households in your selected drive time earning income at each level, as well as whether SSS would expect households in that income band to pay full tuition, contribute partial tuition, or require full aid.
If you prefer to work with tabular data, this information is included in the table below.
The Race/Ethnicity tab offers a deeper look at the distribution chart above. In addition to information about the distribution of your market across income band and financial assistance designation, the chart shows you the racial/ethnic composition of each income band.
This chart contains a ton of information, so it can be useful to narrow the field of focus for targeted conversations. Market View has your back- hover the mouse over any of the bars in the chart to focus on one specific group, or use the small, colorful circles in the legend below the chart to toggle the data for different groups on or off.
You can also filter your data using the drop-down menus located just above the chart- click the type of data you'd like to filter, income or race/ethnicity, and click the blue check marks to engage or disengage selected variables.
The Change in Average tab can help you understand historical and projected shifts in income across different racial/ethnic groups in your market. This information is useful to assess risk, for example; If your school is heavily representative of one racial/ethnic group, and the projected household income is expected to decrease, you might need to consider other ways to shore up enrollment.
