“Building a product or producing content before identifying your target market is like building a boat without deciding whether it is for fishing in the Everglades or sailing between Miami and Mexico — at best, the result will be uncomfortable for the people who use it, and at worst, the result will be so useless that no one even looks at it.”
Whether you are starting a blog, creating a new YouTube channel, starting a new business, or niching down your existing business, the first thing you need to do is select a target market. Your target market is the set of people who will be your customers, readers, or viewers. There are 3 reasons why investing time upfront to select a specific target market has a high ROI:
- Product Quality. Knowing exactly who is in your target market allows you to build products and content that are specifically tailored to those people’s needs and interests.
- Cheap & Effective Advertising. A well-defined target market allows you to advertise to the people in that target market both more cheaply and more effectively than if you were advertising to a more general group of people.
- Maximum Profit. Most businesses, YouTube channels, and blogs fail. Of those that survive, most are not as profitable as they could be. One of the main causes of both business failure and subpar profits is that entrepreneurs unwittingly create products or services for people who don’t have money. That leads to lots of wasted time, money, and frustration. The simple solution to avoid all of that is to work backwards: start by selecting a target market that is big enough & has enough wealthy members to support a healthy business, and ONLY THEN start creating products and content for them.
A target market is just a subset of all the humans on Earth which we want to serve. There are 6 common types of target markets:
- Geographic target markets — Groupings of people based on location such as country, state, city, neighborhood, rural/urban, and climate zone/seasonality/weather/temperature (e.g. “people living in the U.S.”, “people living in Florida”, “people living in Miami”, or “people living in tropical climates”)
- Demographic target markets — Groupings of people based on age, sex, ethnicity, relationship status, socioeconomic status, income, education, and/or cultural membership (e.g. “Men aged 18-24”, “white women over 50”, “adults aged 25-40 who didn’t go to college”, or “childless single women over 50 with a net worth of at least $1 million”)
- Psychographic target markets — Groupings of people based on their attitudes, interests, hobbies, personality, fears, ambitions, values, opinions, and/or lifestyle (e.g. “Republicans”, “adults who enjoy bird-watching”, “people who subscribe to a libertarian philosophy in life”, or “people who are paranoid about losing their wealth because they grew up in a poor dysfunctional family”)
- Firmographic target markets — Groupings of people based on the type of organization they work for and/or their role within that organization (e.g. “CEOs”, “CMOs of publicly listed construction companies”, “owner-operators of companies making $2-5 million in annual revenue”, “grant writers at non-profits that were founded more than 2 years ago”, or “HR professionals working at manufacturing companies with 10-50 employees”)
- Anthropometric target markets — Groupings of people based on their body shape and size (e.g. “people who are in the top 20% of heaviest people their age”, “people over 6 feet tall”, “people with flat feet”, or “people with a hunchback”)
- Behavioral target markets — Groupings of people based on buying, consumption, or engagement behaviors (e.g. “people who usually ask their friends for advice before making a consumer purchase decision”, “people who always buy their mom a gift for mother’s day”, “people who go on a spending spree as soon as they get a paycheck”, “people who only purchase fair-trade products”, “people who prioritize price in every purchase decision”, “people who prioritize safety in every purchase decision”, “people who use tiktok for at least an hour a day on average”, or “people who like at least 30% of the the Rock’s instagram posts”)
For most entrepreneurs and content creators, their target market will be formed by combining and intersecting two or more different target markets of the types just described.
For example, the target market of a downtown Mexican restaurant in New York City might be single adults in white collar jobs making $150-300k per year (demographic target), who live in Manhattan (geographic target), who typically go on at least one casual date each week (psychographic target), and who always buy lots of drinks on dates (behavioral target).
Remember: You want to be sure you select a target market that is both big enough (i.e. has enough people) and rich enough (i.e. has enough money) to support a business of the size you want to build.
In the table below, I list 156 target markets (i.e. niche audiences) that you might want to target, together with the size and wealth of each market. Each market listed is a subset of Americans unless otherwise noted.
| Market | Market Size | Per Capita Wealth or Income | Total Wealth or Income | |
| 1 | Homeowners (not counting duplicate ownership if more than 1 person is on the title) | 83 Million | $73,000 median household (not individual) income $255,000 median household wealth | $6.059 Trillion annual income $21.165 Trillion total wealth |
| 2 | Independent landlords (with rental income) | 10.6 Million | $97,000 average annual income for landlords (total, not just rental) | $1.028 Trillion annual income (total) |
| 3 | Independent landlords who manage their own properties | 4.77 Million | $97,000 average annual income | $463 Billion annual income |
| 4 | Independent landlords who graduated college | 7.0 Million | $97,000 average annual income | $679 Billion annual income |
| 5 | Gun-owning households | 54 Million | $100,000+ median income | $5.4 Trillion annual income |
| 6 | Motorcycle-owning households | 10 Million | $65,000 median income | $650 Billion annual income |
| 7 | Adults aged 25+ whose highest degree is a Masters degree | 24 Million | $64,000 median income | $1.5 Trillion annual income |
| 8 | Adults with a doctoral degree | 4.7 Million | $71,000 median income | $333 Billion annual income |
| 9 | Employees in the U.S. | 139 Million | $65,000 average (not median) income | $9 Trillion annual income |
| 10 | Adults | 259 Million | $71,000 median household (not individual) income | $18 Trillion annual income |
| 11 | Adults who own stocks | 145 Million | – | – |
| 12 | American families who own stocks | 65 Million | $40,000 median stock portfolio value | $2.6 Trillion total stock wealth |
| 13 | American families who own stocks directly (i.e. not counting index funds, mutual funds, or retirement accounts) | 18.6 Million | – | – |
| 14 | Individuals that own at least one traditional IRA | 49 Million | $189,000 average total traditional IRA assets | $9.3 Trillion in traditional IRA assets |
| 15 | Individuals that own at least one Roth IRA | 22 Million | $46,000 average total Roth IRA assets | $1.0 Trillion in Roth IRA assets |
| 16 | Individuals that own at least one SEP IRA | 3.1 Million | $158,000 average SEP IRA assets | $491 Billion in SEP IRA assets |
| 17 | Individuals that own at least one SIMPLE IRA | 3.2 Million | $46,000 average total SIMPLE IRA assets | $146 Billion in SIMPLE IRA assets |
| 18 | Individuals that own at least one IRA (of any type) | 63 Million | $175,000 average IRA assets | $11 Trillion in total IRA assets |
| 19 | Retired workers receiving social security benefits | 47 Million | $19,000 average annual social security income (not total income) | $893 Billion annual social security income |
| 20 | American households (not individuals) | 124 Million | $73,000 median household income | $9.05 Trillion (using median) annual income |
| 21 | Dog-owning households | 69 Million | $79,000 median household income | $5.45 Trillion (using median) annual income |
| 22 | Bird-owning households | 10 Million | – | – |
| 23 | Horse-owning households | 1.6-2 Million (estimates vary in this range) | $60,000 – $100,000 median income (estimates vary widely in that range) | $120-160 Billion annual income (estimated using median) |
| 24 | Adults legally taking prescription stimulants | 16 Million | – | – |
| 25 | Adults who are vegetarians (excluding vegans) | 15.5 Million | $35,000 median income | $543 Billion annual income |
| 26 | Adults who attend a Christian church every week | 55 Million | – | – |
| 27 | Jews by religion | 4.2 Million | $100,000 median household (not individual) income | $420 Billion annual household income |
| 28 | Adults who believe astrology is real *More precisely, adults who responded “yes” to the question: “Do the positions of stars and planets influence people’s lives?” | 70 Million | – | – |
| 29 | Americans aged 18-29 who believe astrology is real | 19.6 Million | – | – |
| 30 | Adults who are “unsure” if astrology is real (i.e. adults who responded “uncertain” to the question: “Do the positions of stars and planets influence people’s lives?”) | 57 Million | – | – |
| 31 | Adults who believe in ghosts | 103-168 Million (40-65% of the U.S. adult population) | – | – |
| 32 | People aged 13+ who identify as transgender | 1.6 Million | – | – |
| 33 | Americans aged 6+ who play golf on a golf course each year | 25 Million | – | – |
| 34 | Americans aged 18-34 who play golf on a golf course each year | 6 Million | – | – |
| 35 | Producers & directors (for film, TV, stage, and other productions) | 138,000 | $102,000 average income | $14 Billion annual income |
| 36 | Real estate brokers & agents | 224,000 | $67,000 average income | $15 Billion annual income |
| 37 | Graphic designers | 204,000 | $60,000 average income | $14 Billion annual income |
| 38 | Preschool & kindergarten teachers | 512,000 | $43,000 average income | $22 Billion annual income |
| 39 | Elementary & middle school teachers | 1.933 Million | $67,000 average income | $130 Billion annual income |
| 40 | High school teachers | 999,000 | $62,000 average income | $62 Billion annual income |
| 41 | Postsecondary teachers (e.g. community college professors, university professors, trade school instructors) | 1.34 Million | $95,000 average income | $127 Billion annual income |
| 42 | Postsecondary health teachers | 260,000 | $120,000 average income | $31 Billion annual income |
| 43 | Doctors in U.S. (actively practicing) | 1.073 Million | $232,000 median income $260,000 average income | $279 Billion annual income |
| 44 | Dentists | 125,000 | $178,000 average income | $22 Billion annual income |
| 45 | Dental hygienists | 207,000 | $81,000 average income | $17 Billion annual income |
| 46 | Dental assistants | 347,000 | $42,500 average income | $15 Billion annual income |
| 47 | Registered Nurse (RN) | 4.2 Million | $75,000 median income $80,000 average income | $336 Billion annual income |
| 48 | Nurse Practitioner (NP) | 235,000 | $118,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 45 | Chief executives | 200,000 | $213,000 average income | $43 Billion annual income |
| 49 | Financial managers | 681,000 | $155,000 average income | $106 Billion annual income |
| 50 | Financial analysts (including investment analysts, personal financial advisers, insurance underwriters, financial risk specialists, etc) | 717,000 | $106,000 average income | $76 Billion annual income |
| 51 | Loan officers | 340,000 | $81,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 52 | Compliance officers | 334,000 | $76,000 average income | $25 Billion annual income |
| 53 | Management analysts (the largest category of management analysts are consultants) | 768,000 | $93,000 median income $101,000 average income | $78 Billion annual income |
| 54 | HR specialists | 741,000 | $71,000 average income | $53 Billion annual income |
| 55 | Accountants and auditors | 1.32 Million | $84,000 average income | $110 Billion annual income |
| 56 | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 1.5 Million | $45,000 average income | $67.5 Billion annual income |
| 57 | Insurance sales agents | 423,000 | $69,000 average income | $29 Billion annual income |
| 58 | Lawyers in the U.S. | 1.328 Million | $127,000 median income $154,000 average income | $205 Billion annual income |
| 59 | Paralegals and legal assistants | 336,000 | $58,000 average income | $19 Billion annual income |
| 60 | Software engineers, developers, and programmers in the U.S. | 4.4 Million | $110,000 median income | $484 Billion annual income |
| 61 | Computer user support specialists | 654,000 | $58,000 average income | $38 Billion annual income |
| 62 | Network and computer systems administrators | 317,000 | $91,000 average income | $29 Billion annual income |
| 63 | Actuaries, mathematicians, statisticians, operations research analysts, and data scientists | 265,000 | $104,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 64 | Construction companies (There are at least as many construction company owners) | 730,600 | $3.28 Million average revenue | $2.4 Trillion revenue |
| 65 | Residential property remodeling companies (There are at least as many residential property remodeling company owners) | 114,500 | $157,000 average annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) | $18 Billion annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) |
| 66 | Employees of residential remodeling companies | 388,000 | $46,400 average W2 income from residential remodeling work | $18 Billion annual income (JUST from remodeling work W2s, not including any other income) |
| 67 | Electrical and wiring installation contractor companies (There are at least as many owners of such companies) | 74,650 | $66,000 average annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) | $59.3 Billion annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) |
| 68 | Plumbing, heating, and AC contractor companies (There are at least as many owners of such companies) | 101,400 | $63,000 average annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) | $69 Billion annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) |
| 69 | Manufacturing businesses (There are at least as many owners of such companies) | 243,000 | $9.5 Million average revenue | $2.3 Trillion annual revenue |
| 70 | U.S. small business owners | 32.5 Million | $66,000 average income | $2.145 Trillion annual income |
| 71 | U.S. small businesses that are at least 51% owned by one or more women (There are at least as many female owners of such businesses) | 11.5 Million | $66,000 average income | $759 Billion annual income |
| 72 | Owners of U.S. small businesses run from home | 16 Million | $66,000 average income | $1.056 Trillion annual income |
| 73 | Businesses with at least one employee (not counting self-employed individuals) (There are at least as many owners of such businesses) | 6.1 Million | $1.24 Million average payroll expense (note: this is payroll not revenue or income) | $7.43 Trillion annual payroll (note: this is payroll not revenue) |
| 74 | Wall Street Journal total subscribers (total, not just U.S.) | 3.6 Million | $1,633,000 average household net worth of WSJ reader | $5.9 Trillion total net worth (note: net worth, not revenue) |
| 75 | Wall Street Journal digital subscribers (total, not just U.S.) | 2.9 Million | $1,633,000 average household net worth of WSJ reader | $4.7 Trillion total net worth |
| 76 | Morning Brew total subscribers (total, not just U.S.) | Over 4 Million | $100k+ median income | $400+ Billion total income |
| 77 | Active duty U.S. military personnel | 1.2 Million | $63,000 median income | $76 Billion annual income |
| 78 | U.S. military reservists | 778,000 | – | – |
| 79 | U.S. military veterans | 18 Million | $66,000 median income | $1.2 Trillion annual income |
| 80 | Social workers in the U.S. | 677,000 | $58,000 average income | $39 Billion annual income |
| 81 | Life, Physical, and Social Scientists (in roles as such) in the U.S. | 1.274 Million | $81,000 average income | $103 Billion annual income |
| 82 | Life scientists | 305,000 | $93,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 83 | Environmental scientists & geoscientists | 107,000 | $87,000 average income | $10 Billion annual income |
| 84 | Industrial engineers | 294,000 | $95,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 85 | Aerospace engineers | 57,000 | $123,000 average income | $7 Billion annual income |
| 86 | Architects (excluding naval & landscape architects) | 100,000 | $92,000 average income | $9 Billion annual income |
| 87 | Civil engineers | 304,000 | $95,000 average income | $29 Billion annual income |
| 88 | Mechanical engineers | 278,000 | $97,000 average income | $27 Billion annual income |
| 89 | Assembly & fabrication workers | 1.8 Million | $39,000 average income | $70 Billion annual income |
| 90 | Machinists | 333,000 | $49,000 average income | $16 Billion annual income |
| 91 | Welding, soldering, and brazing workers | 428,000 | $48,000 average income | $21 Billion annual income |
| 92 | Public relations specialists | 243,000 | $73,000 average income | $18 Billion annual income |
| 93 | Writers & editors | 186,000 | $79,000 average income | $15 Billion annual income |
| 94 | Aircraft pilots & flight engineers | 124,000 | $170,000 average income | $21 Billion annual income |
| 95 | Flight attendants | 97,000 | $62,000 average income | $6 Billion annual income |
| 96 | Heavy and semi truck drivers | 1.9 Million | $50,000 average income | $95 Billion annual income |
| 97 | Commercial light truck & van drivers | 1 Million | $43,000 average income | $43 Billion annual income |
| 98 | Industrial truck and tractor operators | 758,000 | $41,000 average income | $31 Billion annual income |
| 99 | Passenger vehicle drivers (includes bus & shuttle drivers, taxi drivers, etc) | 697,000 | $40,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 100 | Railroad workers (not including train engineers or operators) | 119,000 | $68,000 average income | $8 Billion annual income |
| 101 | Firefighters | 317,000 | $55,000 average income | $17 Billion annual income |
| 102 | Detectives and criminal investigators | 108,000 | $90,000 average income | $10 Billion annual income |
| 103 | Police officers | 669,000 | $71,000 average income | $47 Billion annual income |
| 104 | Security guards | 1.057 Million | $36,000 average income | $36 Billion annual income |
| 105 | Building cleaning workers (janitors, maids, etc) | 2.78 Million | $31,000 average income | $86 Billion annual income |
| 106 | Landscaping & groundskeeping workers | 892,000 | $35,000 average income | $31 Billion annual income |
| 107 | First-line supervisors of sales workers (total) | 1.387 Million | $55,000 average income | $76 Billion annual income |
| 108 | First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | 1.143 Million | $47,000 average income | $54 Billion annual income |
| 109 | First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers | 244,000 | $92,000 average income | $22 Billion annual income |
| 110 | Securities, commodities, and other financial services sales agents | 427,000 | $93,000 average income | $40 Billion annual income |
| 111 | Wholesale & manufacturing sales reps for technical & scientific products | 266,000 | $103,000 average income | $27 Billion annual income |
| 112 | Wholesale & manufacturing sales reps (total) | 1.51 Million | $78,000 average income | $118 Billion annual income |
| 113 | Customer service representatives | 2.8 Million | $39,000 average income | $109 Billion annual income |
| 114 | Postal service workers | 527,000 | $53,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 115 | Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks | 795,000 | $38,000 average income | $30 Billion annual income |
| 116 | Secretaries and administrative assistants | 3.1 Million | $45,000 average income | $140 Billion annual income |
| 117 | Executive secretaries and assistants | 467,000 | $67,000 average income | $31 Billion annual income |
| 118 | First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers | 666,000 | $75,000 average income | $50 Billion annual income |
| 119 | Construction trades workers | 4.4 Million | $54,000 average income | $330 Billion annual income |
| 120 | Electricians | 651,000 | $64,000 average income | $42 Billion annual income |
| 121 | Plumbers, pipelayers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 451,000 | $62,000 average income | $28 Billion annual income |
| 122 | Automotive technicians and repairers | 783,000 | $48,000 average income | $38 Billion annual income |
| 123 | Android users | 120 Million | – | – |
| 124 | iPhone users | 121 Million | – | – |
| 125 | Voters registered with the Libertarian Party | 720,000 | – | – |
| 126 | Hair, nail, and skin care service business owners | 101,000 | $52,000 median income | $5.3 Billion annual income |
| 127 | Child day care business owners | 61,000 | – | – |
| 128 | Exam prep & tutoring business owners | 8600 | – | – |
| 129 | Landscaping business owners | 105,000 | – | – |
| 130 | Janitorial service business owners | 58,000 | – | – |
| 131 | Veterinary business owners | 28,000 | – | – |
| 132 | Custom software development business owners | 61,000 | – | – |
| 133 | Engineering service company owners | >50,000 | – | – |
| 134 | Accounting, tax prep, bookkeeping, and payroll service company owners | >115,000 | – | – |
| 135 | Insurance agency & brokerage business owners | >120,000 | – | – |
| 136 | Finance & insurance (entire industry) small to medium business owners | >220,000 | – | – |
| 137 | Owners of investment-related businesses excluding brokers, dealers, exchanges, commercial banks, and investment banks (e.g. financial advisors, trust administration, and custody service businesses) | 55,000 | – | – |
| 138 | Brewery owners | >4000 | – | – |
| 139 | Law firm owners | >161,000 | – | – |
| 140 | Adult residents of Florida | 17 Million | $63,000 median household (not individual) income $90,000 average household income | $767 Billion annual household income |
| 141 | Adult residents of Texas | 21 Million | $67,000 median household (not individual) income $94,000 average household income | $1.0 Trillion annual household income |
| 142 | Adult residents of Washington state | 5.9 Million | $84,000 median household (not individual) income $116,000 average household income | $352 Billion annual household income |
| 143 | Adult residents of California | 29.5 Million | $85,000 median household (not individual) income $121,000 average household income | $1.6 Trillion annual household income |
| 144 | Adult residents of Oregon | 3.3 Million | $72,000 median household (not individual) income $96,000 average household income | $163 Billion annual household income |
| 145 | Adult residents of NYC (the 5 boroughs) | 5.5 Million | $71,000 median household (not individual) income $108,000 average household income | $352 Billion annual household income |
| 146 | Adult residents of Miami-Dade County, FL | 2.1 Million | $59,000 median household (not individual) income $89,000 average household income | $85 Billion annual household income |
| 147 | Adult residents of Harris County, FL (~Houston) | 3.4 Million | $64,000 median household (not individual) income $95,000 average household income | $165 Billion annual household income |
| 148 | Adult residents of Los Angeles County, CA | 7.5 Million | $77,000 median household (not individual) income $109,000 average household income | $369 Billion annual household income |
| 149 | Adult residents of Cook County, IL (~Chicago) | 4.0 Million | $72,000 median household (not individual) income $104,000 average household income | $215 Billion annual household income |
| 150 | Adult residents of Maricopa County, AZ (~Phoenix) | 3.4 Million | $76,000 median household (not individual) income $103,000 average household income | $177 Billion annual household income |
| 151 | Adult men with who always keep a full beard | 42 Million | – | – |
| 152 | Adult men who report that their inability to grow a beard makes them feel less masculine | 30 Million | – | – |
| 153 | Individual millionaires | 22 Million | >$1,000,000 net worth | >$22 Trillion total net worth |
| 154 | Individual millionaires in California | 9.5 Million | >$1,000,000 net worth | >$9.5 Trillion total net worth |
| 155 | Individuals with a net worth of at least $5 million | 3.5 Million | >$5,000,000 net worth | >$17.5 Trillion total net worth |
| 156 | Individuals with a net worth of at least $50 million | 95,000 | >$50,000,000 net worth | >$4.8 Trillion total net worth |
NOTE: Much (but not all) of the data above is derived from Census, IRS, BLS, and other government data sets. However, sometimes government data sources conflict, and other times no government sources were available and various private data sources were used. Interpret the data provided above as the output of “napkin math” calculations which can go a long way towards putting you on the right path but shouldn’t be taken as exact.