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Resource of the Month: Mosaic USA Consumer Segmentation

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by Lisa Curtin
November 13, 2018

This month we are highlighting Mosaic® USA, a unique and valuable resource for students and researchers seeking consumer demographic and psychographic information for GB214, GB320, marketing projects, and corporate immersion projects!

About Mosaic® USAMosaic USA handbook cover

Mosaic® USA is a consumer lifestyle segmentation system developed by Experian that classifies U.S. households into 19 overarching groups and 71 unique types that share similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Mosaic® USA profiles provide information about the sociodemographics, lifestyles, behaviors, and culture of consumers within each of the 19 groups and 71 segments. Affluence and life stage, combined with property characteristics, socio-economics, ethnicity, additional financial measures, and the type of geographic location (e.g. urban or rural) are key components of the Mosaic classifications.

Access Mosaic® USA profile descriptions The Bentley Library has access to Mosaic® USA profiles and population and household data via our subscription to the DemographicsNow database. Follow these steps to locate the profiles:

  1. Select the Demographics Now database from the library's Databases A-Z list
  2. Click on the menu icon in the top right corner
  3. Click HELP
  4. Scroll down to view [Mosaic USA Details]. You will see links to the 19 Mosaic® USA group profiles and the 71 Mosaic® USA segment descriptions.


example of a Mosaic profile

Find Mosaic® USA population and household data for a geographic area Generate reports in DemographicsNow to identify the Mosaic® USA composition of any geographic region (zip code, city, county, state, etc.). Follow these steps to generate reports:

  1. Select the DemographicsNow database from the library's Databases A-Z list
  2. Click on the [Demographics] tab at the top of the page
  3. Enter a [Geography] in the GeoFilter box
  4. Select a [Report Type]: Summary, Comparison, or Rank
  5. Use the [Report] drop-down box to select a Mosaic® USA report. Report choices will vary according to your report type selection, but include Population, Household, and Workplace Population reports.


Get Mosaic® USA help and documentation

These sources will help you understand and use Mosaic® USA. 

  • Mosaic® USA Guide brochure introduces and describes Experian's Mosaic USA consumer lifestyle segmentation system
  • Mosaic® USA Handbook provides an overview of Experian's data sources
    • See pages 5 & 6 for the group and type structure
    • ​see page 7 for the Mosaic® USA Family Tree. The family tree illustrates the major demographic and lifestyle polarities between the groups and types, and shows how the Mosaic types relate to each other.
  • Mosaic® USA Names and Short Descriptions presents brief, at-a-glance descriptions for each of the 71 types
  • DemographicsNow Tutorials


If you'd like further assistance using this resource please contact the Reference Desk.

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.