Age and Family Structure
This report looks at the Age distribution of the Rochester, MN and quantifies the structure in to 9 possible categories. These are based on 2 scales, Dependency and Age Proportion Ratio of the Dependency. Dependency here is the ratio of dependent population, include older dependents over 65 and younger dependents under 15 compared to the 15 to 65 working age population. This measure is often used a way of quantify the amount of strain that the working age population might have in supporting those not working and is sometimes further refined to focus on only those currently working. In this case however we focus only on the age structure. The percentage that the young make up of the dependent population yields the Dependent Age Proportion, with a higher value indicating a younger population.
Market Age Structure Classification: Sandwiched
The Rochester, MN market has a dependency ratio of 63.3 which is considered a High level of dependency. The proportion of that dependent population that is under 15 is 45% and subsequently this market could be age wise considered Balanced. These two classifications in mind the Rochester, MN market falls in the Sandwiched Age Structure Classification.
With a High level of dependency and the age dependency balanced between young and old, this markets is facing challenges on two fronts. This market has a smaller proportion of working population that is supporting both young and old. If the young population drops off here this market may transition directly into an Aged structure. This market may also be a retirement destination, if so and its properly set up to economically benefit from this, that could be to its advantage. If it is not a retirement destination then the future might also look bright as the current working population will likely shift to a lower older dependency as time passes, putting this market in a Stable or even a Growing structure. The key here will be to retain the younger and working populations, and to do this with potentially less resources. Though an Aged structure isn’t terrible if properly set up as a retirement destination a Stable or Growing structure offers more long term options.
STI Markets Comparison - Age Chart
The lines on the following chart are the break points used for structure classifications. For dependency on the X axis they are 56 and 61. For the age proportion of younger dependents (out of young <15 and old dependents >65) on the Y axis they are at 55% and 45%.
Figure 17: Age Structure Classification for STI Markets
