MapInfo Lists the Top Ten Credit Spending Metros

TROY, NY – With most people done filing their federal income tax, today MapInfo Corporation (NASDAQ: MAPS) identified the top metros where tax refunds may be used to pay off outstanding credit. According to MapInfo’s research, all of the top ten metropolitan areas with the highest propensity for personal lines of credit are all located west of the Mississippi River including Bend, Oregon, Boise, Idaho and Reno, Nevada. The top ten metros, in order of their general credit card index, are:

1. Bend, Oregon
2. Boise, Idaho
3. Reno, Nevada
4. Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colorado
5. Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico
6. Denver, Colorado
7. Phoenix, Arizona
8. Casper-Riverton, Wyoming
9. Tuscon, Arizona
10. Billings, Montana

MapInfo uncovered this data through its geodemographic research solutions, including its PSYTE® U.S. Advantage neighborhood segmentation solution. Shopping habits and credit spending propensity are just some of the insights that MapInfo delivers to companies looking to gain more accurate understandings of the lifestyles and preferences of their customers. Whether it is the cars they drive, magazines they read or television programs they watch, MapInfo provides information for businesses to quickly profile their highest valued customers, predict their behavior and find more like them. With this insight, marketers can then decisively develop fine-tuned campaigns to draw these customers to their franchise and win their loyalty.

“An interesting aspect of the research is that all of the metros in the top 10 are located in western states,” said Jon Winslow, director of social research at MapInfo. “The new west, in Boise and Denver, for example, is developing a unique character. In any of the thriving western cities, one can expect to see new homes and new families, as well as established suburban couples upgrading their homes. In both cases, the growth of neighborhoods, the increase in property value and the upward mobility of the groups encourage ‘speculative’ spending – spending excused by the expectation of future income.”