Rod Building Demographics part 2
I’m a sucker for numbers and statistics. I like the picture they paint but remain careful to view them in the proper context. After all, it’s perfectly possible to drown in a lake with an average depth of just an inch.
The RodMaker Magazine subscriber database offers good insight into where the bulk of the custom rod builders live. It’s easily large enough to provide a reasonable picture of how custom rod builders are distributed here in the U.S. But just like that lake with the average depth of just an inch, you have to view the numbers in the larger overall picture. For instance, if you were to view the numbers for many of the Northeast states separately, you might think that the density of rod builders in the northeast is pretty low. However, when you take the larger view and overlay a state the size of California or Texas onto a map of the northeast, you suddenly realize that a ton of rod builders do indeed live in the northeast.
Okay, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the numbers…
Alabama – 254
Alaska – 73
Arizona – 170
Arkansas – 109
California – 1464
Colorado – 219
Connecticut – 249
Delaware – 97
Florida – 1279
Georgia – 367
Hawaii – 92
Idaho – 109
Illinois – 369
Indiana – 198
Iowa – 299
Kansas – 161
Kentucky – 132
Louisiana – 201
Maine – 76
Maryland – 245
Massachusetts – 304
Michigan – 489
Military APO – 78
Minnesota – 517
Missouri – 243
Mississippi – 94
Montana – 170
Nebraska – 46
Nevada – 73
New Hampshire – 68
New Jersey – 499
New York – 749
New Mexico – 82
North Carolina – 1232
North Dakota – 46
Ohio – 399
Oklahoma – 136
Oregon – 273
Pennsylvania – 743
Puerto Rico – 9
Rhode Island – 57
South Carolina – 245
South Dakota – 73
Tennessee – 398
Texas – 1157
Utah – 46
Vermont – 10
Virginia – 496
Washington – 452
West Virginia – 72
Wisconsin – 369
Wyoming – 36
There are some interesting observations to be made from looking at the numbers of subscribers in each state. But to truly understand the larger demographic picture, you have to consolidate the numbers into larger and more geographically pertinent sections. We’ll save that for tomorrow.
Tom Kirkman
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Tomorrow – What the numbers really mean…
Amazing 245 rod builders/subscribers in Maryland another 97 in Delaware and I only know about 15 of them. We should be able to start a NERBS-like chapter. Trick is how to find/contact them.
Ken,
This explains the fallacy of thinking that you can reach most rod builders via the internet. You can’t – the vast majority of them don’t frequent the internet forums and chat rooms at all.
And this is another reason why an event like the Expo relies on direct mail to reach its intended audience. Companies, events, etc., that rely solely on the internet to reach the rod building market are only reaching a couple to three hundred builders, tops. Another reason why the largest and most successful rod building component supply dealers remain those that still publish and mail print catalogs.
Agree! Your facts prove it