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Where Does a Prepaid Wireless Store Fit? Applying Census Rules to 25 US Downtowns

Published October 10, 2026 by the Demografics team

Prepaid wireless stores, such as authorized Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile and Boost Mobile dealers, look for a recognizable customer profile: dense neighborhoods, moderate household incomes, many renters and many young adults. This article applies that profile, as encoded in the Demografics industry fit rules, to the area within 3 miles of City Hall in 25 major US cities.

The rules we applied

The score starts at 55 and adds points for each favorable condition, up to a maximum of 98:

Density above 5,000 residents per square mile: +15 (above 3,000: +8).
Median household income between $32,000 and $75,000: +18; $75,000–$100,000: +5; above $100,000: −10, because prepaid demand falls off in affluent areas.
More than 55% of homes renter-occupied: +10.
More than 25% of residents aged 18–34: +10.

These are transparent rules of thumb, not a sales forecast. They say whether an area's residents match the typical profile; they do not account for competing stores, rents, visibility or foot traffic.

Results

Prepaid wireless fit within 3 miles of City Hall (ACS 2018–2022 inputs)
City	Fit score	Grade	Median household income	Renter-occupied	Aged 18–34	Residents per sq mi
San Antonio, TX	98	A+	$44,326	57%	28.3%	5,058
Phoenix, AZ	98	A+	$55,779	65%	33.4%	3,580
St. Louis, MO	98	A+	$57,251	65%	33.7%	3,133
Los Angeles, CA	98	A+	$58,055	87%	33.5%	15,831
Baltimore, MD	98	A+	$66,906	61%	33.9%	8,334
Minneapolis, MN	98	A+	$68,148	68%	43.6%	9,215
Miami, FL	98	A+	$68,602	75%	27.5%	8,843
Philadelphia, PA	95	A+	$76,216	58%	39.3%	17,120
Atlanta, GA	95	A+	$84,412	60%	44.0%	6,734
Dallas, TX	95	A+	$84,746	75%	42.8%	5,195
San Diego, CA	95	A+	$91,894	69%	35.1%	6,166
Denver, CO	95	A+	$92,500	64%	41.8%	8,225
Portland, OR	95	A+	$95,389	64%	33.8%	6,653
Detroit, MI	93	A+	$42,056	76%	33.6%	2,336
Charlotte, NC	88	A+	$93,497	59%	40.2%	4,389
Houston, TX	80	A	$102,832	61%	38.1%	6,695
Boston, MA	80	A	$106,389	71%	45.2%	14,329
Seattle, WA	80	A	$117,010	69%	43.6%	7,919
Chicago, IL	80	A	$121,719	60%	43.5%	13,324
Washington, DC	80	A	$128,861	66%	42.1%	12,718
New York, NY	80	A	$135,675	74%	34.7%	34,137
San Francisco, CA	80	A	$152,120	72%	32.9%	17,313
Riverside, CA	78	B+	$77,833	52%	35.4%	3,962
Tampa, FL	78	B+	$80,919	53%	32.2%	3,548
Orlando, FL	78	B+	$80,921	51%	30.6%	3,771

22 of the 25 downtowns score 80 or more: San Antonio, Phoenix, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, Denver, Portland, Detroit, Charlotte, Houston, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, New York and San Francisco. The 3 lower-scoring cities miss on: Riverside (density at or below 5,000 per sq mi and renter share at or below 55%); Tampa (density at or below 5,000 per sq mi and renter share at or below 55%); Orlando (density at or below 5,000 per sq mi and renter share at or below 55%). High income alone does not sink a score: Houston, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, New York and San Francisco have downtown median incomes above $100,000, which costs 10 points, yet still score 80 or more because their cores are dense, renter-heavy and young. That is a limit of simple rules worth knowing: in an affluent core, a prepaid store would depend more on commuters, students and visitors than these resident figures suggest.

Fit at 1, 3 and 5 miles

The same rules give different answers at different radii. Widening from 3 to 5 miles raises the fit score in 2 cities (Philadelphia and Orlando) and lowers it in 8 (Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Tampa, St. Louis, San Antonio, Portland and Denver).

Prepaid wireless fit score by radius around City Hall
City	1 mile	3 miles	5 miles
New York, NY	80	80	80
Dallas, TX	95	95	88
Houston, TX	95	80	80
Philadelphia, PA	95	95	98
Atlanta, GA	98	95	78
Boston, MA	80	80	80
Phoenix, AZ	98	98	98
San Francisco, CA	95	80	80
Detroit, MI	98	93	93
Seattle, WA	95	80	80
Minneapolis, MN	95	98	85
Tampa, FL	95	78	70
Baltimore, MD	98	98	98
St. Louis, MO	98	98	93
Orlando, FL	88	78	91
Charlotte, NC	95	88	88
San Antonio, TX	83	98	91
Portland, OR	98	95	70
Los Angeles, CA	98	98	98
Chicago, IL	80	80	80
Washington, DC	80	80	80
Miami, FL	95	98	98
Riverside, CA	98	78	78
San Diego, CA	95	95	95
Denver, CO	95	95	85

Before choosing a site

Count competitors. A strong demographic fit with five carrier stores already within a mile is a very different opportunity from one with none.
Look past the downtown. Within the same city, neighborhoods 3 to 5 miles out often fit the prepaid profile better than the core.
Check the specific address: these figures describe a 3-mile circle, and conditions change block by block.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2018–2022 (tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B11001, B19001, B19013, B25003, C24050).
U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb 2020 census tract boundaries (used to find the tracts inside each trade radius).
Demografics industry fit rules (prepaid wireless category), as published in this article.