26 Great Foursquare Demographics

Who is the average Foursquare user? It’s a question that many people ask for this unique competitive social network. Foursquare users believe that the world is an amazing place that is filled with amazing experiences. By checking-in with real-time locations, this site has redefined what local search means. They are also attempted to redefine what it means to leave local tips.

More than 55 million people around the world have used Foursquare at least once and created over 6 billion different check-ins.

Foursquare

Although people in the United States numerically use this site more often than any other country, the per capita population usage rates in the US is far behind. Venezuela, in fact, is the most popular country for Foursquare use. This is followed by Singapore, Azerbaijan, and Belgium. As you can see, the demographics of the average Foursquare user are more unusual than most other population groups.

• Men [60%] are more likely to use Foursquare than women [40%].
• 4 out of 10 Foursquare users are in the 18-29 age demographic, making it the most popular age group.
• Only 5% of Foursquare users are in the 54-65 age demographic.
• 40%. That’s the number of Foursquare users that have received no college education whatsoever. Another 43% of Foursquare users have attended college, but don’t have a degree to show for their efforts.
• The percentage of Foursquare users that make less than $50k per year: 49%.
• 60% of the total Foursquare check-ins occur in the United States.
• There are 2,000 check-ins per minute on Foursquare.
• 50 million brands and publishers have used Foursquare.
• Over 60,000 developers have used Foursquare’s location data for their products.
• Over 40 million tips have been left by the Foursquare community at locations worldwide.

Many people see Foursquare being a place where rich people tend to gather, but realistically the demographics are split up pretty evenly along salary lines. 51% of people on the site might make more than $50k per year, but 35% of the total users make between $25k-$50k. That might be rich for many parts of the world today, especially when over 1 billion people earn less than $2 per day, but in the US and other developed nations, that puts someone squarely into the lower Middle Class. The reality behind this fact is that Foursquare is primarily a young person’s site. The younger generations have fewer qualms about sharing facts on their movements and habits and this is reflective in the amount of check-ins they make.

The Demographics of Foursquare Might Surprise You

• The percentage of adult Hispanics that log into Foursquare on a regular basis: 13.2%.
• 2.8%. That’s the percentage of Caucasians that log into Foursquare at least once per day.
• African-Americans are 3x more likely to use Foursquare on a daily basis than Caucasians.
• 35% of art organizations in the United States will use sites like Foursquare for the sole purpose of interacting with their patrons.
• Only 3 out of 10 mobile social media users are going to log into Foursquare.
• 80%. That’s the number of Foursquare users that have acted on tips that have been left by a fellow Foursquare participant.
• 2 out of 3 active Foursquare users will post tips about the locations where they tend to check-in regularly.
• Men are more likely to use Foursquare to check-in at travel locations, while women are more likely to check-in at educational locations.
• 34% of the check-ins at beauty shops come from male users of the site.
• About 4% of Foursquare users will check-in at their own homes.

There really could be a dangerous side to using Foursquare extensively. Someone with nefarious intent could track behavioral patterns with this site and be able to predict when a home will not be occupied. Others could use Foursquare to determine if someone is at home because they check-in there. What is unique about these demographic facts, however, is that minorities are much more likely to use Foursquare. Part of this may be due to the worldwide influence seen in the population demographics, but there could be an ethnic family-based element at work here as well. One thing is for certain: this site can be used to let people know where you are and what you’re doing without creating a status update.

Did Foursquare’s Relaunch Save Its Life?

• The day before Foursquare’s relaunch, the company ranked #1,221 overall among iOS apps in the U.S. The following day, Foursquare jumped to #457.
• Following the relaunch on Android, Foursquare ranks #461 in the U.S. out of all Android apps. The day before, it didn’t rank in the top 600.
• Most users are still unhappy with the overall mobile platform offered by Foursquare, raising the overall app rating from 1.5/5 to 2/5.
• There were more than 500,000 fewer unique users using Foursquare on a monthly basis in the United States in the first quarter after the relaunch.
• CEO Dennis Crowley reported a 600% increase in revenue in 2013 over the $2 million in revenue reported in 2012 – or a $14 million total.

The issue that Foursquare faces for 2015 and beyond is its transition from a sole check-in fun type of social experience to its becoming a combination of Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter. The added features have certainly made many take notice of what the site is able to provide in informational value, but there is still a long way to go for Foursquare to really be called a success. It’s relaunch and transformation may have saved its life, but as the demographics show, it might be a life that winds up being short-lived since most of the information being shared is widely available on other travel and social sites. There will always be a niche that loves Foursquare, but will that niche grow? Only time will tell.