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Canada Post postal codes can reveal your lifestyle, says this website

Can something as mundane as your postal code reveal what kind of lifestyle you have?

“Not quite golden age material, the established households of Aging in Suburbia enjoy a comfortable lifestyle sustained by upper-middle-incomes.”

Those are the words I was greeted with when I entered my postal code into PRIZM5, a site that says it can tell you about your lifestyle simply by knowing your postal code.

Was it accurate? Well, yes, kinda.

There are a lot of luxury cars and boats in driveways in my neighbourhood. And yes, it seems most of the houses were built between 1960 and 1990. As far as many residents visiting “far-flung locales” such as China and Australia, I will have to take their word on that.

The site, built by Toronto-based data mining firm Environics Analytics says it it sorts residential postal codes into 68 segments “that capture current demographics, lifestyles, consumer behaviour and settlement patterns in Canada”.

The firm has identified some broad macro trends it says have changed so subtly that many Canadians may not have noticed them. These include increasing cultural diversity, a migration to urban centres, and an aging population.

“PRIZM5 paints a vivid picture of the changing face of Canada,” says Environics Analytics founder Jan Kestle. “Because changes happen gradually over time, they may not always be noticeable. However, when we analyzed the data for PRIZM5 at the neighbourhood level, the differences became apparent in the new 68 lifestyle types.”

While many will have a laugh at whether their neighbourhood is a “Boomerang City” or a “Jeunes d’Esprit” there is a more bottom line intent to PRIZM5. Environics Analytics the goal of the site is to help marketers target places where there product will be best received.

For now, I am waiting by my mailbox for deals on boat repairs and trips to Chengdu and Melbourne.