Quota Balancing adjusts your sample proportions to match U.S. Census Bureau estimates for the demographic traits you select. When you enable Quota Balancing on the Target Market page, the system automatically achieves census percentages for each trait you select—no manual adjustments needed.
In This Article
- Overview
- Using Quota Balancing for US Surveys
- US Census Age-Band Presets
- Using Quota Balancing for International Surveys
- Important Considerations
Overview
For US surveys, you can balance respondents by two to six traits according to US census data; the number of traits depends on your sample size. Canadian surveys can balance on two to four traits. For other countries with a census preset, Quota Balancing covers Age and Gender.
Quota Balancing is available on the general consumer panel. It isn't offered on B2B panels, and some specialty panels have their own presets.
💡 Tip: If you want to control the proportion of responses from each demographic group manually instead, use Quota Groups instead.
Using Quota Balancing for US Surveys
The standard US preset balances against 2024 American Community Survey (5-year) estimates for the 18+ population, with inflation-adjusted incomes. Balancing happens at the total level in non-nested quota groups on up to six demographics: Gender, Age, Household income, Region, Race, and Hispanic. The system attempts to achieve the census percentage for each trait individually within an acceptable tolerance.
Turning It On
- On the Target Market page, find Demographic Quotas.
- In the dropdown, switch from Quota Groups to Quota Balancing. Check the boxes to select at least two traits to balance by.
If you've selected more traits than your sample size supports, the page will prompt you to either remove a trait or increase the sample size.
The number of traits you can balance by depends on your sample size:
| Sample size | Traits you can balance |
|---|---|
| 300–599 | 2–4 traits |
| 600–799 | Up to 5 traits |
| 800 or more | All 6 traits |
⚠️ Note: Quota Balancing needs a minimum of 2 traits and 300 respondents—for balancing on one demographic only, use a preset Quota Group instead. US surveys also need a predicted incidence rate of 70% or higher to launch with Quota Balancing enabled.
💡 Tip: The standard preset balances against the 18+ US population and is self-serve. Presets for narrower age bands (18–64 and 18–65) are enabled per account by request—see US Census Age-Band Presets.
US Census Age-Band Presets
The standard US Census preset balances against the 18+ US population and is available to every aytm client as a self-serve setting. aytm also maintains additional Census presets scoped to narrower age bands for accounts that need them.
The Standard Preset (18+)
The default US Census preset targets the 18+ US population, with an open-ended 65+ bracket at the top. There is no upper age cutoff in the preset itself.
On the Target Market page, the age selector runs from 18 up to 75+ on new surveys. Some older surveys still use the legacy age selector, which runs up to 65+.
Age-Band Presets (18–64 and 18–65)
aytm maintains additional Census presets scoped to narrower age bands: 18–64 and 18–65. These recalculate every trait's census proportions for that age band rather than for the full 18+ population, so a study restricted to working-age respondents balances against the right denominator.
These presets are not self-serve. They are enabled on individual accounts by aytm.
How to Request an Age-Band Preset
- Contact your Account Manager or support@aytm.com.
- Provide your aytm account email address and the exact age band you need (18–64 or 18–65).
- Your Account Manager coordinates with the aytm product team to enable the preset on your account.
- Once enabled, the preset appears in the Quota Balancing mode on your Target Market page.
Other Age Ranges
There are no Census Balancing presets for arbitrary custom age ranges. If your study needs census-aligned proportions for a band aytm doesn't have a preset for, use Quota Groups with percentages set to match census data for that range. Your Account Manager can help you build the group structure and source the right proportions.
💡 Tip: When you contact your Account Manager, include the exact age range and the traits you need balanced. That determines whether an existing preset fits or whether custom census-aligned quota groups are the better route.
Using Quota Balancing for International Surveys
Outside the US, Quota Balancing is based on individual country census data and is available for countries that have a census preset. If a country has no preset, the Quota balancing option doesn't appear—use Quota groups instead.
- Canada: Balance on 2–4 traits from Gender, Age, Region, and Household income. You choose the traits with checkboxes, as with US surveys.
- Other countries: Balancing uses Age and Gender together. There are no trait checkboxes—both traits are applied automatically.
With your country selected on the Target Market page, open the Demographic quotas dropdown and select Quota balancing.
All quotas reflect country census data and are fulfilled on a best-effort basis. To adjust these quotas or balance by only one demographic, choose Quota groups instead.
Important Considerations
- Trait counts: US surveys can balance by 2–6 traits and Canadian surveys by 2–4, depending on sample size. Other countries balance on Age and Gender.
- Minimum respondents: The minimum depends on the preset. US and Canadian census presets require 300 respondents; international presets require 200. Some account-specific presets require more.
- Incidence rates: Use Quota Balancing only when your target market reflects the census and has an incidence rate of 70% or higher for US surveys, or 20% or higher for international surveys.
- Narrowed targeting blocks launch: Quota Balancing assumes a census-representative audience. If you filter any demographic trait other than age (for example, gender, income, or region), the survey will fail at launch. The editor doesn't warn you ahead of time, so check your Target Market filters before launching.
- Video and image responses: Surveys that combine Quota Balancing with video or image response questions can't be launched through self-serve checkout. Contact support@aytm.com for a custom quote.
- Specialty panels: Quota Balancing isn't available on B2B panels. Some specialty panels offer only their own panel-specific presets.
- Survey completion: For the best results, wait until the survey completes before cleaning open-ended responses. The survey automatically replaces rejected responses.
- Exact demographic intersections: For exact balance at the intersection of demographic traits (e.g., male ages 25–34), use Quota groups instead.
- Non-binary respondents: When using Quota Balancing for US samples, respondents who self-describe as non-binary are not excluded—they enter the survey based on the other balancing criteria (e.g., age, income, region, or race).
- Question-level quotas: Quota Balancing creates quotas based on demographic traits only. To set a quota on an answer option in your survey, use the Set quota for answer option operator in aytm Logic—see Custom Quota Logic.