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Who Is Occupy DC and What Is Their Agenda?
In many of our conversations with friends, colleagues and clients we‟ve found a common questionposed about the various “Occupy” movements: “who are they and what is their agenda?”
To answer that question APCO Insight conducted an informal survey of 82 Occupy DC participants inMcPherson Square to better understand the demographic composition of those participating in themovement in Washington, DC as well as capture broad attitudes towards the Occupy movement.Surveys have been conducted by interested organizations and individuals at multiple Occupy sites,including New York, Chicago, Oakland, and Boston to achieve the same goal.This memo is not intended to speak to the Occupy movement as a whole nor its specific manifestationin DC. Rather it is simply a snap shot in time summarizing who was at the McPherson Square OccupySite in the midafternoon on November 14
th
.We make some comparisons between this study of DC Occupy participants and other studies, yetrecognize that the methodologies between the various studies differ; the characteristics of those whoparticipate likely vary from location to location and those who participated early in the movement maydiffer than those still active two months later.For more information
about this study or APCO Insight‟s research practice please contact Karen
Buerkle at 202 778-1471.
KEY FINDINGS
The average age of respondents is 32 years old, with the youngest being under 25 years oldand the oldest being over 65 years old
–
generally consistent with other Occupy surveys.
Occupy DC participants are less educated than their counterparts on Wall Street.
Nearly 1 in 5 of respondents describe themselves
as either “homeless” or “traveler”
prior toOccupy DC, while (separately) 1 in 4 respondents lived with their family and friends.
The site draws in many new participants. One in three respondents said this was their first timeparticipating in a march, rally, or protest.
Occupy DC participants overwhelmingly (86%) feel that the entire movement has been effective
–
notably in raising awareness and changing public dialogue.
The biggest criticism of the movement among participants is a lack of organization and acoherent goal.
2
DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION
In terms of demographic composition of the sample, we found similarities in gender and age, butdifferences in education and employment between Occupy DC and the other locations polled.
Male-dominated Settlements
Among Occupy DC respondents, the male-to-female ratio is 7:3; a near-identical gender split to that ofthe Occupy Boston survey conducted in October. An OWS face-to-face study in New York showed aslightly more balanced gender demographic (61% males and 39% females).
The Young Are the Restless
One in three respondents is younger than 34, which is generally consistentwith other surveys of the Occupy movement. Occupy DC residents 18-24
year‟s old (33%) make up three times the national average of adults
at theirage (10%). The average age of Occupy DC participants is 32 years old,making them roughly the same age as participants in New York (33) andBoston (30)
*
. Notably, female participants skew younger than malecounterparts
–
the average age of female participants is 28 years old
–
fiveyears younger than males.
One in Three Participants is a College Graduate
The majority of Occupy DC respondents have received some form of higher education, however; thissample is less educated than those found in the other locations surveyed. Strictly compared to a surveyof OWS in New York, where 31% of the respondents have a high school degree or less, a little morethan half that number (17%) has a high school education or lessamong our sample of DC participants. A key difference in education isat the post graduate level, where 22% of those surveyed at OWS havea post-graduate degree
–
and only 2% of our DC respondents haveabove a college degree.
Distaste for Party Politics
We asked political party was an open-ended question, rather thanasking respondents if they consider themselves a Republican,Democrat or Independent. Roughly half of our Occupy DCrespondents claim no political affiliation. Indeed, only 6% of OccupyDC voluntarily
identify themselves as “Independent,”
and an additional40% say they do not identify with any political party
”.
Somewhat similarresults are shown in OWS, where 39% of respondents do not identifywith any party, 25% identify as Democratic, and 2% identify asRepublican.
*
Chicago and Oakland do not make their data on age publicly available.
High school or less 17%Some college 44%College degree 32%Post graduate studies 2%Refused to answer 1%Democrat 20%Republican 10%Independent 6%Libertarian 2%Anarchy 5%Liberal 4%None 40%Other 4%Refused 9%
Male 70%Female 30%Refused to answer 1%18-24 33%25-34 29%35-44 17%45-54 9%55-64 5%65+ 2%Refused to answer 4%
3
Higher Unemployment/Underemployment Rates
While 27% of the Occupy DC participants are employed, close to 60% of the respondents areunemployed or underemployed. 5% are full-time students, and 5% self-describe themselves as having
“Other” employment situations.
No distinctions were made between full-time and part-time employment.
Of those who identified as „unemployed or underemployed,‟ about 55% believe that they lost their job
as a result of the economic downturn.Compared to studies conducted in other locations, DC respondents face a more difficult employmentenvironment. Some of this may reflect the location of the DC encampment
–
McPherson Square is the
“home” or gathering spot of some of the city‟s homeless population. In comparison to our DC results,
half the protesters inBoston are employed andin New York, theunemployment/underemployment rate is the lowestat 46%. Data onemployment isunavailable for Chicagoand Oakland.
Somewhat
“Transient”
Living Situations
Nearly 1 in 5 of respondents was without a home (including traveling) prior to Occupy DC, while(separately) 1 in 4 respondents lived with their family and friends. This question was not found in anyother surveys but it demonstrates that roughly half of the DC sample is somewhat
„transient‟–
with only46% of respondents claiming they own or rent their house or apartment.
Employed
Unemployed/Underemployed
Other
Student
Refused
Did you lose your job as aresult of the economicdownturn?
Yes
No
Own 9%Rent 37%Live with family/friends 24%Homeless (volunteered) 16%Traveling (volunteered) 4%Other 9%Refused to answer 2%
Unemployed / Underemployed Employed
Washington, DC 60% 27%
Boston 50% 50%New York (Face-to-Face) 46% 30%Chicago Not available Not availableOakland Not available Not available
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