AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD EBI:
This figure is calculated by dividing the total number of households into total Effective Buying Income (EBI) for a given geographic area. Often used as an indicator of market quality, this figure can be misleading, particularly in areas where there is a disproportionate share of college, military, or other institutional-style populations housed in group quarters. Because such quarters are not considered households, and because total EBI includes the incomes of these residents, a per-household average sometimes credits households with income that is not really theirs.

AUTOMOTIVE DEALERS:
Sales by retail establishments (dealers) primarily engaged in selling new and used automotive vehicles and trailers for personal use, and parts and accessories for such vehicles. Boat and aircraft dealers are included; mobile home dealers and gasoline service stations are not included.

BUYING POWER INDEX (BPI):
A weighted index that converts the Survey of Buying Power's three basic elements-population (the demographic factor), Effective Buying Income (the economic factor), and retail sales (the distribution factor)-into a measurement of a market's "ability to buy," expressing it as a percentage of the national total (100.0000%). The county's (or other market's) share of the U.S. total of each of these elements is multiplied by a fractional weight: .5 times the percent of U.S. Effective Buying Income, .3 times the percent of U.S. retail sales, and .2 times the percent of U.S. population. The sum of these weighted percents is the BPI.

CITY:
An aggregation of people and retail outlets with set corporate limits, within which city government-as an incorporated state agency-exercises legal authority. The Survey of Buying Power lists all U.S. cities that either: 1) had a population of 40,000 or more at the time of the 2000 Census of Population; 2) are central cities of a metropolitan market; or 3) function independently of counties. Any city fitting the population and employment criteria specified by the Office of Management and Budget is designated a "central city." The names of the largest central cities in a metropolitan area are used to form the title of that metro. If a CBSA has no central city, it is named after its counties (e.g., the Nassau-Suffolk, New York, CBSA metro market).

CORE BASED STATISTICAL AREA (CBSA):
An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) geographic area that is defined by a significant population center plus its surrounding communities that exhibit a high degree of social and economic assimilation with that center. In June 2003, the OMB replaced its Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with CBSAs. The OMB classification system is designed to ensure use of consistent geographic definitions when accumulating, summarizing, and distributing metro-area statistics. The definitions are reviewed every 10 years (following the Census of Population); however, new metro areas are added in the years between the decennial reviews based on the Census Bureau's current population estimates.

CBSAs refer collectively to Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas. These metropolitan and micropolitan areas are not linked to urban-rural classifications; many counties included in Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas contain both urban and rural territories and populations. CBSA Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urban area of 50,000 or more residents while Micropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urban group of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 inhabitants. The CBSA metropolitan and micropolitan areas also include neighboring counties that have a minimum of 25 percent of its population commuting to the central counties. The CBSA areas capture approximately 93 percent of the U.S. population, up from the 80 percent previously captured under the MSA classification.

The current classification system also groups complimentary and adjacent CBSAs into Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs). A CSA may be composed of numerous metropolitan and/or micropolitan CBSAs. CSAs have been designated for adjacent CBSAs with an employment interchange of 25 percent or more.

NOTE: Because we recognize only those metros and metro counties that meet formal criteria, the Survey of Buying Power listings do not include nonconforming changes affected through legislation.

DESIGNATED MARKET AREA (DMA):
The formal term for a TV or broadcast market, commonly referred to as a media market. Definitions for DMAs are supplied by Nielsen Media Research, which generates ratings for broadcast programming. DMAs are selected by totaling the viewer hours of TV stations whose signals reach a particular county with total hours, then converted to a percentage share of all viewing hours. DMAs are named for the market of origin of the station(s) with the largest share of viewer hours, and all counties whose largest viewer share is given to stations in that same market of origin are grouped together under that DMA.

NOTE: Because of the reach of broadcast signals, DMAs don't always conform to whole county geography like CBSA markets. In certain cases, Nielsen splits counties, treating each portion as if it were a separate county. Each county, or portion thereof, is allocated to a single DMA, eliminating any geographic overlap. DMAs cover the whole U.S., except for parts of Alaska.

EFFECTIVE BUYING INCOME (EBI):
EBI is defined as money income less personal tax and non-tax payments-a number often referred to as "disposable" or "aftertax" income. EBI is computed as a derivative of household income, with the correspondence between before-tax and after-tax income being identified for each state based on three-year combinations of Current Population Survey (CPS) data.

Money income is the aggregate of wages and salaries, net farm and nonfarm selfemployment income, interest, dividends, net rental and royalty income, Social Security and railroad retirement income, other retirement and disability income, public assistance income, unemployment compensation, Veterans Administration payments, alimony and child support, military family allotments, net winnings from gambling, and other periodic income.

Deducted from this total money income are personal income taxes (federal, state, local), personal contributions to social insurance (Social Security and federal retirement payroll deductions), and taxes on owner-occupied nonbusiness real estate.

Receipts from the following sources are not included as money income: money received from the sale of property (unless the recipient is engaged in the business of selling property); the value of income "in kind" from food stamps, public housing subsidies, medical care, employer contributions for persons, etc.; withdrawal of bank deposits; money borrowed; tax refunds; exchange of money between relatives living in the same household; gifts and lump-sum inheritances, insurance payments, and other types of lump-sum receipts.

ELECTRONICS & APPLIANCES STORES:
Sales by retail stores selling household appliances, radios, televisions, computer hardware and software, camera and photographic equipment, and electronics. This category excludes automobile stereo/radio stores, pre-recorded tape, compact disc and record stores, musical instruments, and supplies stores.

ETHNIC POPULATION:
These figures are updated from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, comprising a headcount of all persons who consider themselves of ethnic origin. The main groups are African-American, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Spanish or Hispanic. It should be noted that persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

FOOD SERVICE & DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS:
Sales by establishments selling prepared food and drinks for immediate consumption on or off the premises. Caterers and industrial and institutional food-service establishments are included; operators of vending machines, mobile lunch wagons, dinner theaters, and ice cream trucks are not.

FOOD STORES:
Sales by retail stores primarily engaged in selling food for home preparation and consumption. Sales by mail-order houses, frozen-food plants, candy stores, warehouse clubs, gasoline stations with convenience stores, snack and non-alcoholic beverage shops, bakeries, and other nonstore retailers are not included.

FURNITURE & HOME FURNISHINGS STORES:
Sales by retail stores selling goods used for the home. This category excludes consumer electronics, musical instruments, sheet music and recordings, custom-made furniture and upholstering, antiques and second-hand items. Establishments primarily engaged in selling merchandise door-to-door, in merchandise parties, or by mail order are not included.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE STORES:
Sales by retail establishments, such as department, variety, and general stores, that sell a wide variety of new merchandise. Establishments primarily engaged in selling by catalog (except for catalog showrooms that sell in-store stock), direct mail, Internet, or TV are not included.

HOUSEHOLDS:
A household consists of all the people occupying a single housing unit under the 2000 Census rules. A housing unit is defined as a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room. In addition, the members of a household need not be related, and a single person living alone in a housing unit is also considered a household. Persons who are not counted as members of households comprise those living in group quarters such as college dormitories, military barracks, rooming houses, long term care hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons.

MEDIA MARKET:
See Designated Market Area.

POPULATION:
Updated from the Census Bureau's 2000 Census of Population and Housing. Total population is headcount estimate of all people living in a given geographic area as of April 1, 2004. It includes people living in group quarters, such as colleges, hospitals, institutions, and nursing homes, as well as armed forces personnel permanently assigned to the area.

RETAIL SALES BY STORE GROUP:
The Survey of Buying Power lists sales for five major store groups considered to be the primary channels of distribution for consumer goods in local markets. Store group sales represent the cumulative sales of all products and/or services handled by a particular store type, not just the product lines associated with the name of the store group. For example, food stores sell a number of different merchandise lines, including personal care products, nonprescription drugs, and automotive supplies.

TOTAL BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS:
An establishment is a single physical location at which business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. It is not necessarily identical with a company or enterprise, which may consist of one establishment or more.

TOTAL RETAIL SALES:
Total Retail Sales reflects net sales (minus refunds and allowances for returns) for all establishments primarily engaged in retail trade, plus eating and drinking establishments. Receipts from repairs and other services (by retailers) are also included, but retail sales by wholesalers and service establishments are not.

NOTE: Net sales for some establishments (e.g., lumber yards, paint, glass, and wall-paper stores, and office supply stores) are also included, even if they sell more to businesses than to consumers.