Methodology

Every metric, defined.

Each metric we publish has a methodology page with the formula, source data, computation steps, known limitations, and a link to the replication SQL on GitHub.

MetricCategoryVintageLast updated
Years-to-own
Years-to-own measures the local housing-affordability gap by dividing the median home value by the median household inco…
HousingACS 5-Year 2019–20232026-05-12
Warming velocity
Warming velocity is the rate at which annual mean temperatures have risen at a place since 1970, expressed in degrees Fa…
ClimateNOAA NCEI nClimDiv 1900–20242026-05-12
Industry HHI
Industry HHI measures the concentration of a local economy across major NAICS sectors. A low HHI means a diversified eco…
EconomyCensus CBP 20222026-05-12
Migration wealth velocity
Migration wealth velocity is the ratio of average AGI per inmover to average AGI per outmover, drawn from IRS SOI county…
MigrationIRS SOI 2022 (filed 2023)2026-05-12
Retail brand density
Retail brand density counts the per-capita prevalence of major retail brands and food-and-beverage establishments — Star…
AmenitiesOSM 2026-05 snapshot2026-05-12

More methodology pages coming as we publish additional metrics. See replication packages on GitHub.