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Estimating piano tuners in a university town

Question

Estimate how many piano tuners work in a university city of about 120,000120{,}000 people.

Short answer

Around 3 to 5. Say 50,00050{,}000 households with 11 in 2020 owning a piano, plus colleges, schools and churches: about 3,5003{,}500 pianos, each tuned about once a year. A tuner doing 44 a day for 250250 days handles about 1,0001{,}000 a year, giving three or four tuners. Explain each assumption and give a range.

Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q8.26, p.278; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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