TROY, N.Y. -- Pitney Bowes Business Insight, the leading global provider of location and communication intelligence solutions, and Earthsense, an applied marketing company, today released demographic insights into the top ten green U.S. states. The research integrates information gathered with Pitney Bowes Business Insight geo-demographic solutions and Earthsense Eco-Insights green survey results. Highlights of the research include:

America's Greenest States-According to the Earthsense Eco-Insights Survey, residents living in the top ten green states are 9 percent more likely to exhibit green behavior. Their top eco-behaviors include turning off the lights when they leave a room, buying products made of recycled materials, recycling cans, bottles and newspapers regularly, turning down the thermostat and limiting their use of water in the home. Based on the Earthsense Eco-Insights Survey, the top ten green U.S. states rank as follows:

1. Vermont
2. Alaska
3. New Mexico
4. Oregon
5. Massachusetts
6. Wyoming
7. Delaware
8. Minnesota
9. District of Columbia
10. Idaho

Green Residents Leading the Way-The Earthsense Eco-Insights Survey reveals that older Baby Boomer women (aged 55-64) are often responsible for the most green behavior and purchasing of green products. In fact, this demographic group is 16 percent more likely to fall into the Earthsense "Green Core," the one-third of U.S. consumers who buy 70 percent or more of the green products purchased, and are more likely than the rest of the population to act and buy green.

Sneak Peek into the Environmentally Friendly-To provide greater insight into the lifestyle characteristics of the Green Core, Pitney Bowes Business Insight used its PSYTE neighborhood segmentation system to identify three psychographic clusters where these consumers dominate.

Professional Duos-Comprised primarily of high-earning professional couples and householders with professional degrees, these residents are found in all major metro areas. People in this cluster are 45 percent more likely to be part of the Green Core than the rest of the population. This cluster's ethnic mix is 75 percent white, non-Hispanic and 25 percent ethnically diverse. Their mean family income is $116,000 and many are doctors, lawyers and educators.

Retirement Horizons-These empty-nest married couples are college-educated dual earners looking forward to retirement. People in this cluster are 31 percent more likely to be part of the Green Core than the rest of the population. More than 90 percent are white, non-Hispanic with a mean family income of $74,000.

Old Metro, New Hands-With an age profile under 45, this cluster is about 35 percent immigrants, primarily Hispanic from Mexico and Central America. Mean household income is $47,200.

"From day one, we viewed actionability as fundamental for our research and the Eco-Insights Survey produces extremely relevant and usable results for clients," commented Wendy Cobrda and Amy Hebard, founders of Earthsense. "Appending Pitney Bowes Business Insight location intelligence solutions to our survey enables us to locate the green and the not-so-green consumer, providing valuable information on where they live, what they read, where they shop and what's available in their neighborhood."

"With Earth Day just around the corner, we decided to research and identify areas of the country that are exhibiting green behavior and making green purchases," said Leslie Nogue, product manager at Pitney Bowes Business Insight. "Integrating our geo-demographic data with Earthsense Eco-Insights survey data provides an in-depth look at key consumer and marketing trends. This insight provides companies in all sectors, including retail, restaurants, real estate and financial services, with the valuable information on consumer lifestyle and behavioral characteristics that they need to make more strategic business decisions."