Acxiom ranks top consumer test markets.

Acxiom Corp. has released a list of its top 150 consumer test markets in the country. Little Rock-North Little Rock ranked No. 17. Albany, N.Y., ranked No. 1.

The results were released as part of the database services company's first "Mirror on America" survey, which ranked metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, based on their overall characteristics as a consumer test market.

To create the ranking, Acxiom used its Personicx software to compare and contrast America's marketplaces based on criteria such as age, marital status, home ownership and estimated income. At No. 1, Albany ranked as the city that best represents the U.S. population as a whole, while New York City was the least favorable test market.

"Albany has almost the same proportion of consumers as is found in the nation as a whole--from people just leaving home or school, buying a home, raising kids, approaching retirement, launching the kids out of the house, to being fully retired," said Tiffany Weatherly, who supervised the research and creation of the ranking.

Acxiom said its Personicx software has the ability to help recognize the differences in purchase behavior based on life stage. It classifies people into one of 70 "clusters," or groups of households that have reached similar life events, such as having a baby or approaching retirement. The company said that being able to recognize such milestones provides marketers with a vivid portrait of key marketplaces.

Acxiom's list of the top five test market
cities are:

1     Albany
2     Rochester, N.Y.
3     Greensboro, N.C.
4     Birmingham, Ala.
5     Syracuse, N.Y.

The least favorable test markets:

146   Ocala, Fla.
147   McAllen, Texas
148   Honolulu
149   San Francisco
150   New York

The complete list can be seen at www.acxiom.com/testmarkets.