Population Dynamics

Summary & Findings:

            The objective that I was given was to figure out what the overall age structure of Colorado Springs, Colorado is and to also figure out the population breakdown of Colorado Springs in comparison to Colorado and the U.S. as a whole. The company that asked me to complete this objective is trying to figure out what business would be the most proficient investment opportunity in Colorado Springs, CO.

  In order to do this there were a few values that we had to figure out, for example the first step in this process was to build a population pyramid for both Colorado Springs and Colorado. Below are the population pyramids for both Colorado Springs and Colorado.

Figure 1: Colorado Springs Population Pyramid

Figure 2: Colorado Population Pyramid

               

                After we put together the two population pyramids we have been given the tools for understanding the make - up of a given population which will help us compare Colorado Springs to Colorado as a whole. Once you compare Figure 1 and 2 you can see a lot of similarities in the way the pyramid is constructed by these populations. There are only a few minor differences in the population pyramid structure between the women for Colorado Springs and Colorado. The only difference I can really tell for the women is the age group of 41 to 45, Colorado Springs percentage for that age group is a little larger than the percentage for Colorado. When comparing the population pyramid structure between the men for Colorado Springs and Colorado, you will notice that there is a higher percentage of the younger adults meaning the age group of 21 to 25.

The next step in the process was to find out the Dependency Ratio, the Dependency Ratio helps us understand the population of the working age when compared to the youth and elderly populations. Below are the calculations for the Dependency Ratio for both Colorado Springs and Colorado.

Dependency Ratio:

                                                DR = 100 * (P0-14 + P65+) / P15-64

                                                                        Colorado Springs:

                                                                                                DR = 100 * (87,716 + 46,413) / 291,676

                                                                DR = 45.98

                                                Colorado:

                                                                DR = 100 * (1,028,985 + 588,773) / 3,501,571

                                                                DR = 46.20

Figure 3: Dependency Ratio

                The Dependency ratio tells us about the population of non – working citizens to the number of those of working age. Both Colorado and Colorado springs have relatively low meaning that the population of those that are of working age is greater than the population of non – working citizens. Since the population of those of working age is greater than both Colorado and Colorado springs will face a lesser burden in supporting the aging population.

            The next step is crucial, this is where we collect and sort all of the data need in order to find the location quotient, this is basically a measure of concentration, it indicates the geographical concentration of a certain variable in a certain location compared to another area. Below is a table of the population data for a city, county, state, and country.

	Total Pop.	Total Pop. 0 – 14	Percent Pop. 0 – 14	Total Pop. 65+	Percent Pop. 65+	Total Hispanic Pop.	Percent Hispanic Pop.	Total White Pop.	Percent White Pop.
Colorado Springs	425,805	87,716	20.6%	46,413	10.9%	70,684	16.6%	299,341	70.3%
El Paso County	634,423	137,035	21.6%	65,980	10.4%	97,701	15.4%	453,612	71.5%
Colorado	5,119,329	1,028,985	20.1%	588,773	11.5%	1,064,820	20.8%	3,568,172	69.7%
United States	311,536,594	61,061,172	19.6%	41,745,904	13.4%	51,715,074	16.6%	197,202,664	63.3%

Table 1: Population Data

With the data that we collected we can now calculate what the location quotient is for all variables while being compared to the population data of the U.S. Below are the location quotients for each variable for the age groups 0 – 14 and 65+, also for the ethnicities of Hispanic and White. What the data below tells me is that in Colorado Springs since the location quotient is above 1.0 for the age group 0 – 14 that means that there is an above average percentage of that age group in Colorado Springs, and the same goes for the location quotient for White. But when we look at the age group of 65+ we see that the location quotient is below 1.0 meaning that there is actually a lower than average percentage of that group in Colorado Springs.  

LQ (Pop. 0-14)     Co. Springs = (20.6/19.6) = 1.05 County = (21.6/19.6) = 1.10 State = (20.10/19.6) = 1.02

LQ (Pop. 65.+)      Co. Springs = (10.9/13.4) = 0.81 County = (10.4/13.4) = 0.78 State = (11.5/13.4) = 0.86

LQ (Hispanic)       Co. Springs = (16.6/16.6) = 1.0 County (15.4/16.6) = 0.93 State = (20.8/16.6) = 1.25

LQ (White)            Co. Springs = (70.3/63.3) = 1.11 County = (71.5/63.3) = 1.13 State = (69.7/63.3) = 1.10

Figure 4: Location Quotient

            After looking at the location quotients of Colorado Springs we then start looking at the service industries of Colorado Springs, how they compare to Colorado as a whole, and how this particular data will help figure out which business to invest in. Below is a table of six different service industries in Colorado Springs and Colorado as well as the location quotients for each service industry.

Service Industries - State	Percent of total state Industries	Service Industries – Co. Springs	Percent of total Co. Springs Service Industries	Co. Springs location quotient
1.  Educational Services, and health care and social assistance	20.3%	1. Educational Services, health care and social assistance	21.6%	1.06
2. Professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services	13.2%	2. Professional, scientific, management, administrative and waste management services	13.2%	1.0
3. Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services	10.7%	3. Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services	10.7%	1.0
4. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing	7.0%	4. Finance, insurance, real estate,  rental and leasing	6.8%	0.97
5. Other services	5.1%	5. Public administration	6.4%	1.25
6. Public administration	5.0%	6. Other services	6.2%	1.24

Figure 4: Service Industries in Colorado Springs and Colorado

                After figuring out the location quotient for all of the service industries that were asked to be calculated we can now tell whether or not a certain service industry is above or below the average percentage in a particular area or region. By looking at figure 4 we can tell that Public Administration has the highest location quotient meaning that in Colorado Springs the service industry of Public Administration is more popular there than it is in most places in Colorado. 
 

Conclusion:

            To put a close to this report I would like to say after looking over all of the research and data I have decided that the age structure of Colorado Springs is considered a place for younger to middle age people to live. The age group that had the highest percentage for Colorado Springs was the ages 21 to 25 for both men and women. Which in comparison to the state of Colorado is younger than the entire state. The age group that has the highest percentage for the state of Colorado is the ages 26 to 30 for men and ages 51 to 55 for women. When we compare Colorado Springs to the United States we see that Colorado Springs is very close to having the same age group with the highest percentage. For instance the age group with the highest percentage is the ages 20 to 24 for men and 50 to 54. So when looking at the population structure of Colorado Springs we see that there is a younger population in that city. When looking at the service industry we see that the most popular service industry for both Colorado Springs and Colorado is education. Since the location quotient is over 1.0 for education that means that education has a higher average percentage of that service industry in Colorado Springs than most other locations. This of course meaning that the best business investment for us to make is to invest in the younger population since there is more of a younger population in Colorado Springs and that we should invest in education since it is the most thriving service industry in Colorado Springs.