Methodology

Home value

The home layer maps the American Community Survey (ACS) median value of owner-occupied homes (table B25077) by census tract. Tracts are colored by their percentile within the loaded area. We also read median household income, median contract rent, and homeownership rate from ACS for the living score and popups.

Living score

The living index is a transparent proxy, not an official quality-of-life rating. It is computed per tract as:

Living score = 50% normalized median household income + 35% housing-affordability proxy + 15% homeownership rate.

The affordability proxy compares local income to local home cost so that high-income, high-cost areas are not automatically rewarded.

Crime context

Where a verified municipal open-data feed is available for the area, the map loads recent reported incidents, classifies them (person-related, property/vehicle, traffic, other), and aggregates them into a normalized crime-context index by ZIP/ZCTA over your selected lookback window. Where no municipal feed is available, the map falls back to the official FBI/BJS NIBRS state-level baseline for context. The index is a relative map score within the loaded area — it is not an official crime rate or a safety rating, and crime data is collected and classified differently by every jurisdiction.

Ranking & “best overall”

The default best-overall score combines 45% living + 35% home value + 20% safety; you can change these weights with the sliders. Ranked outlines and the top-areas table use the same scores. ZCTAs are Census approximations of ZIP Code areas and do not perfectly nest inside census tracts, so boundary areas can be approximate.

Use limits

Public data can be incomplete, delayed, or reported differently across jurisdictions. Use the map to screen and compare areas, then verify any detail that matters with official local sources before making a decision. This tool does not provide investment, relocation, or safety advice.