Saleem Infographic: Do Facebook Users Reflect US Demographics?

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Facebook VS. The United States, Infographic Compares Populations

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uploaded by Jacob Zinn

A new infographic comparing US demographics to that of American Facebook users illustrates some notable differences in the 2 populations.

The graphic, designed by social media consultant Muhammad Saleem, says the estimated 2009 U.S. Facebook user population is 116,010,760, or 37% of the estimated U.S. population of 309,003,000.

Breaking Down the U.S.-Facebook Demographics

Saleem compiled the information from the U.S. Census Bureau, the World Bank, Wikipedia and several other sources, including Facebook. The site’s total population is around 400 million, meaning roughly 70% of the total Facebook population lives outside of the U.S.

While males and females are about 50-50 in the U.S. population, around 55% of the Facebook population is female.

Saleem looked at population growth from 2005 to 2008:

• 2005 – United States: around 0.9%; Facebook: around 550%
• 2006 – United States: around 0.95%; Facebook: around 210%
• 2007 – United States: around 1.0%; Facebook: around 410%
• 2008 – United States: around 0.9%; Facebook: around 290%

Saleem Compares Ages, Races and Political Views in Facebook Infographic

While almost 85% of Americans are White, the Facebook population is closer to 75%. Also, the percentages of Blacks, Latinos and Asians on Facebook are all larger than the percentages in the U.S.

Users aged 18 to 25 make up the majority of the U.S. Facebook population while Americans aged 0 to 14 make up the majority of the U.S. population. While seniors make up around 15% of the U.S. population, there is no section on the Facebook chart for users above the age of 64.

Around 65% of the Facebook population declares no political affiliation, compared to less than 10% of the U.S. population who do not define this aspect. Other viewpoints were as follows:

• Liberal – United States: around 25%; Facebook: around 15%
• Moderate – United States: around 35%; Facebook: around 10%
• Conservative – United States: around 35%; Facebook: around 10%

American Facebook Users by Region

South Dakota had the highest concentration of users with 31.1%, followed by Massachusetts and Virginia. New Mexico had the lowest concentration of users with 10.3%.

Saleem also ranked the top 10 cities with the most Facebook users:

• New York City, NY
  
• Los Angeles, CA
  
• Chicago, IL
  
• Houston, TX
  
• Philadelphia, PA
  
• Dallas, TX
  
• Phoenix, AZ
  
• San Diego, CA
  
• San Jose, CA
  
• San Antonio, TX
  

The percentage of Facebook users in Washington, D.C. was greater than the city’s population because of the people who reside in surrounding cities but list themselves in Facebook’s D.C. network.