Hartford, CT: a market profile for local advertisers

Who lives in Hartford, CT

Its principal cities are Hartford, West Hartford and East Hartford.

The median home value of $333,500 is in line with the national figure. The median household in Hartford, CT earns $95,118 a year, 18 percent above the national figure (the US median is $80,734).

Homeownership is 67.3% here, 2 points above the US share; that is the pool of people who hire roofers, plumbers and landscapers rather than calling a landlord. Among adults 25 and over, 42.7% have at least a bachelor's degree, 7 points above the US share. Unemployment in the civilian labor force is 5%, about the same as the US share. Age first: the median is 40.8, 1.9 years above the national median.

Hartford, CT versus Connecticut: income about the same as the Connecticut figure, home values 9 percent lower than the Connecticut figure, business density about the same as the Connecticut figure.

Who is already competing here

28,131 businesses with employees operate in Hartford, CT. That is 24.4 establishments per 1,000 people, in line with the national figure. 1,586 of them are home-services contractors, 5.6% of everything, about the same as the US share. The table breaks out the categories that spend the most on local advertising; restaurants is the biggest of them at 2,368.

Ratio above 1.00: the trade holds a bigger share of the local business base than it does nationally; below 1.00, a smaller one.

More common here than nationally: landscaping services, personal care services, road and paving contractors and electrical contractors. Landscaping services show it most, with 622 establishments, 1.6 times the share nationwide. Thinner than the national mix are general freight trucking, roofing contractors, concrete contractors and real estate lessors. General freight trucking are the clearest gap with 226 establishments, about 57% of the share they hold across the US. Close to the national mix: plumbing and HVAC contractors, specialty trade contractors and general automotive repair.

Restaurants (2,368), physicians' offices (904) and personal care services (766) are the biggest categories by establishment count. Relative to population the leaders are restaurants (205.4 per 100,000 residents), physicians' offices and personal care services. The group picture: medical and dental practices above the national pattern at 1.2 times, trucking, storage, real estate and road construction below it at about 69% of.

Implications for a local business

Because landscaping services, personal care services and road and paving contractors are over-represented, a new entrant in those categories competes for a fixed pool of searches against many established profiles. Reviews, photos, response time and a page that answers the exact query are what move the needle; simply outbidding is expensive. In general freight trucking, roofing contractors and concrete contractors, the shortage of local establishments is an opening: the searches are there, the competition for them is not, and a listing that ranks plus a page that converts can own the category quickly. Household income 18 percent above the national figure supports higher ticket sizes, which is why premium positioning and financing offers tend to work in this market. Residents here are older than the US median (1.9 years above the national median); they search, read reviews and call, which puts the weight on search, the listing and the phone.