Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan Metropolitan Area

Story by Janice Chamberlain -- Home Accents Today, 10/1/2006

Ann Arbor, Mich., home to one of the nation's top universities, is also a standout when it comes to spending on home accents products. In fact, Ann Arbor blasts past nearly all of the United States' more than 900 metropolitan areas in expected percentage increases on home accents spending from 2005 to 2010.

According to statisticians at New York-based Easy Analytic Software, Inc. (EASI), Ann Arbor ranks in the top 10 of the nation's 934 metro areas for growth in spending on area rugs, lamps and wall decor and in the top 20 for decorative pillows and throws.

Ann Arbor also outpaces the national growth rates of these categories by a significant margin. National spending is projected by EASI to increase by 32% for area rugs, 24% for lamps, 20% for decorative pillows and throws and by 25% for wall decor, measured against 37%, 26%, 22% and 28%, respectively, in Ann Arbor.

Residents of Ann Arbor also will have the financial resources to purchase home accents products: in 2005, EASI statisticians estimated Ann Arbor's median annual household income to be $57,089, 25% above the national median. That figure is expected to rise to $71,111 in 2010, 23% more than the predicted national median.

In 2005, the number of Ann Arbor households placed it in the top 10% of fastest growing metro areas, and EASI projects that rapid growth will continue. From 2005 to 2010, forecasted household growth in Ann Arbor is expected to rank it among the top 20% of metros.

As the site of the University of Michigan, it's not surprising that Ann Arbor ranks No. 3 among the 934 metro areas for the number of area residents with graduate degrees and No. 20 for those with college degrees. Based on median household income and other factors, it appears those degrees translate into an attractive shopping mecca for merchants selling home accents.