What Does Your Future Look Like? US Market Population Projections for 2020.
Markets change – they are never static. Most people don’t need to look any further than the value of their own house over the last 5 years to understand that.
But when markets change, they impact your business. Markets where population is growing typically mean that, for a period of time, the demand for services will out-pace the supply. In the landscaping industry, that means there is often more customers than contractors until the population growth levels off. This is a good scenario for your landscape business – there’s more work to be done, and clients are often willing to pay a premium to get their project(s) at the top of the list. Growing markets also usually mean rising real estate values… as the value of people’s homes appreciate, they are more likely to re-invest some of that appreciation back into their homes, in the form of upgrades and improvements.
But the opposite can be said for declining markets. As populations decrease, the supply of landscape related services will, for some time, outweigh the demand. This is a tough scenario for landscape contractors. As populations decline, so too do real estate values – and as people’s personal weath declines, they’re much more likely to make significant investments in their home.Prices drop as owners, desperate for operating cash and even survival, fight for the available work. Gradually, contractors will start to go out of business, until the supply of landscape services more closely matches the demand.
Being able to better predict which way your market is moving is essential to managing the opportunities (or threats) for your landscape business on the 3 to 5 year horizon. To view the projected population shifts for your county or metropolitan area, you can check out ProximityOne’s population forecasts for 2010 through to 2020 here:
Click here to view ProximityOne’s population projections…
Here’s a summary of some quick facts from the projections…
- Raleigh/Cary, NC is projected to see the greatest population growth (as a %) of any major metropolitan area
- North Carolina cities own 3 of the top 11 metro areas for projected growth, and Texas metro areas own 8 of the top 21 spots.
- Michigan cities hold 4 of the top 12 spots for projected population decline, with Flint, MI targeted for the most decline of any major metropolitan area
- The top 5 states projected to see the greatest population growth (by percentage) include:
- Utah (22%)
- Wyoming (20%)
- Texas (20%)
- Colorado (19%)
- Arizona (18%)
- The top 3 states projected to see the least population growth (by percentage) are:
- Michigan (-4%)
- Rhode Island (-1%)
- Maine (0%)
The page comes with several handy tools you can use to find your information fast. Use the options at the bottom of the chart to:
- Search for a specific location/city/county
- Show data by US, by State, by County, or by major metropolitan area
Click here to view ProximityOne’s population projections…
The Landscape Management Network helps great landscape contractors build great landscape business. To see how their budgeting tools can help you plan and price your work for a better future, check out the website at www.landscapemanagementnetwork.com and watch the demonstration videos.
