Radius vs. drive time
Most trade area analysis starts with a circle. Customers don't travel in circles: highways stretch the area you can reach, while rivers, rail yards and one-way streets cut it. Catchment Explorer lets you compare both on a live map of U.S. Census data.
How to use it
- Drag the pin to any location, or search for an address.
- Switch between Radius and Drive time, then set the distance or travel time.
- Read residents, density, household income and age structure as the area updates.
Data and method
Population, age and sex, household income and ancestry come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates at the block-group level. Drive-time areas are calculated with HERE Isoline Routing on the real road network, optionally with current traffic. A block group counts toward the area when its centroid or at least half of its area falls inside. The demo starts in Chicago.
FAQ
What is a drive-time catchment area?
It is the area you can reach from a location within a set travel time along the actual road network, also called an isochrone. Catchment Explorer calculates it with HERE Isoline Routing.
Why not just use a radius?
A radius ignores roads, barriers and traffic. Two areas of the same size can contain very different numbers of people, and drive time shows who can actually reach a location.
Where does the population data come from?
From the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, at the block-group level.
How are block groups on the edge of the area counted?
A block group counts in full when its centroid or at least half of its area lies inside the radius or drive-time area. For client analyses, edge block groups can also be apportioned by area.
Can I use this in my own product?
Yes. The isolines, geocoding, address autocomplete and routing behind this demo are available through the Placematic API, built on HERE location services. You can start with a free API key.
Read the full guide to drive-time catchment areas →
Related tools: Truck Flow — 24 hours of freight truck traffic on US metro highways.