MOSAIC Segmentation
MOSAIC is a geodemographic segmentation system developed by Experian and marketed in over twenty countries worldwide. Each of the nearly one-quarter million block groups were classified into sixty segments on the basis of a wide range of demographic characteristics. The basic premise of geodemographic segmentation is that people tend to gravitate towards communities with other people of similar backgrounds, interests, and means. MOSAIC is linked to the systems in other nations through the Global MOSAIC classification, which consists of four-teen market segments found in every modernized country.
MOSAIC is one of over twenty neighborhood classification systems built by Experian staff, whose international segmentation experiences stretches back over twenty years. Along with the international experience applied in this product, some of the most experienced geodemographers in North America were involved with the development of MOSAIC. During the product refinement process, MOSAIC was compared to other clustering systems in a variety of tests. The MOSAIC assignments are updated annually by incorporating updated AGS demographics into the segmentation model, ensuring that the assignment is as accurate as possible given shifts in local area demographics.
AGS used a very wide range of variables from the 2000 Census at the block and block group levels in order to build the new MOSAIC system. In total, the number of variables used in the initial analysis was well in excess of 600. The group categories of variables included in the creation of the MOSAIC typology is listed below:
Population by Age and Sex
Population by Race and Hispanic origin
Educational Attainment
Educational Enrollment
Marital Status
Group quarters population by type
Place of birth
Foreign born by year of entry
Households by type
Size of household
Household type by presence of children
Age of head of household
Language spoken at home and linguistic isolation
Residence in 1995 (Stability)
Tenure
Vehicles available
Households by income
Median income, average per capita income
Median income by age
Households by type of income
Workers in family
Income/Poverty ratio
Labor force status by sex (incl. military)
Labor force participation rate
Employment by occupation
Employment by industry
Income/Poverty ratio
Labor force status by sex (incl. military)
Labor force participation rate
Employment by occupation
Employment by industry• Class of worker (e.g. private corporation, federal gov’t, unpaid family, etc.)
Veteran status
Travel time to work
Worked at home
Dwellings by occupancy status (owned, rented, vacant)
Housing value of owner occupied housing
Median housing value
Contract rent
Median contract rent
Units in structure
Year structure built
Median dwelling age
Mortgage status (e.g. no mortgage, first only, first and second)
Year moved in
Population density
MSA size
Distance to MSA center
The resulting segmentation system consists of sixty segments which are presented as twelve separate groups:
- A Affluent Suburbia
- B Upscale America
- C Small-town Success
- D Blue-collar Backbone
- E American Diversity
- F Metro Fringe
- G Remote America
- H Aspiring Contemporaries
- I Rural Villages & Farms
- J Struggling Societies
- K Urban Essence
- L Varying Lifestyles
MOSAIC Groups and Segments
MOSAIC Cluster Descriptions
Pricing
| Level of Data | Size "A" | Size "B" | Size "C" | Size "D" | United States | County or CBSA |
| Block Group* | $1,500. | $2,000. | $2,500. | $3,000. | $10,000. | $1,000/ $2,000. |
| Census Tract† | $750. | $1,000. | $1,250. | $1,500. | $5,000. | |
| Zip Code‡ | $750. | $1,000. | $1,250. | $1,500. | $5,000. | |
| Place | $2,500. | |||||
| County | $1,600. | |||||
| Size "A" States | Size "B" States | Size "C" States | Size "D" States |
| Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming | Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia | Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin | California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas |
Notes:
* Block Group Data also includes Census Tract, County, Place and State level data.
† Census Tract Data also includes Country and State level data.
‡ Zip Code data also includes County and State level data.
AGS is a trademark of Applied Geographic Solutions, Thousand Oaks, CA
