MRKT 396 Fundamentals of Marketing Research

To construct a successful business or marketing plan, it is important to know your audience. Demographic tools are a good way to discover something about the people and the communities you plan to market to.

Here are two online tools (freely available) to get you started.

U.S. Census Data Portal - Data from the U.S. Census Bureau's many surveys. Includes population, housing, and economic information. A step-by-step LibGuide for how to use the new data website can be found at https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/USCensusData. 

Oregon Explorer: Rural Communities - Information compiled and updated here at OSU. It pulls together information from a variety of sources about Oregon communities that can't be found anywhere else.

Census Bureau Home Page

This is the primary entry point to current and historical Census data for various topics (people and housing, business and industry, and several special topics) and by geography. News, quick facts, publications, and interactive maps are also available. 

• Read the latest news and publications that are created using Census data.
• Find information about and links to various Census and related surveys using the Topic or Geography drop-downs at the top of the page.
• Read about the context behind the data.
• To find or create downloadable tables and maps, use the Census Data Portal.