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USCity.review

Data sources & methodology

USCity.review is built from open data. Here is every dataset we use, who publishes it, what it covers and when we last refreshed it.

How the rankings work

  • Each ranking blends a few metrics. A city is scored on each metric by percentile against the other ranked cities, then the scores are combined using published weights into a 0–100 score.
  • Scores are relative to the cities in our dataset, so a score describes how a city compares, not an absolute grade.
  • Place counts from OpenStreetMap cover a 5 km radius around each city's center so cities are compared like for like. OpenStreetMap is volunteer-edited, so coverage varies.
  • Some data is published for a larger area (county-level hazard and air quality data) and is shared by every city in that area.
  • Health figures are modeled estimates, and school figures describe resources such as staffing, not how well students learn. We avoid ranking cities on sensitive measures where the underlying data is not comparable.

  • OpenStreetMap

    Not yet imported

    Volunteer-mapped places (parks, restaurants, museums, transit stops, bike paths) used for place counts, maps and the place-based rankings.

    Publisher
    OpenStreetMap contributors
    Licence
    Open Database License (ODbL)
    Geography
    Points within 5 km of each city center
    Updates
    Continuously edited; refreshed on import

  • FEMA National Risk Index

    Not yet imported

    Natural hazard risk, expected annual loss, social vulnerability and community resilience scores.

    Publisher
    Federal Emergency Management Agency
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    County
    Updates
    Updated by FEMA every few years

  • OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations

    Not yet imported

    Federally declared disasters by county over the last ten years.

    Publisher
    Federal Emergency Management Agency
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    County
    Updates
    Updated continuously by FEMA

  • American Community Survey (5-year)

    Last imported

    Income, rent, home values, education, poverty, internet access and commuting.

    Publisher
    U.S. Census Bureau
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Incorporated place / CDP
    Updates
    Annual release

  • CDC PLACES

    Last imported

    Model-based estimates of chronic disease, health behaviors, disability and health insurance coverage among adults.

    Publisher
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Incorporated place / CDP
    Updates
    Annual release

  • NCES Common Core of Data

    Last imported

    Every public school and district: enrollment, teachers, free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, charter and magnet status.

    Publisher
    National Center for Education Statistics, via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    School and district (matched to cities by mailing city)
    Updates
    Annual, lagging about two years

  • ParkServe

    Last imported

    Share of residents within a 10-minute walk of a park, parkland share and park counts.

    Publisher
    The Trust for Public Land
    Licence
    Free public data with attribution; see publisher terms
    Geography
    Incorporated place / CDP
    Updates
    Annual

  • EPA AirData (Air Quality Index)

    Last imported

    Annual air quality index summaries: median AQI and the number of unhealthy days.

    Publisher
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    County (only counties with monitors)
    Updates
    Annual summaries

  • EPA Smart Location Database

    Last imported

    National Walkability Index and car-free household shares.

    Publisher
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Census block groups within 5 km of each city center
    Updates
    Updated by EPA every few years

  • Resident reviews

    Not yet imported

    Ratings and written reviews from verified members who live, used to live or have visited, averaged per category.

    Publisher
    USCity.review community
    Licence
    Original content owned by its authors; shown with permission
    Geography
    City
    Updates
    Continuously, after staff approval

  • NOAA U.S. Climate Normals (1991-2020)

    Last imported

    Average monthly high and low temperatures, rainfall and snowfall.

    Publisher
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NCEI)
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Nearest airport weather station within 50 km
    Updates
    Every ten years

  • Wikimedia Commons photos

    Last imported

    Openly licensed photographs near each city center, shown with their authors and licenses.

    Publisher
    Wikimedia Commons contributors
    Licence
    Free licenses (CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC0, public domain); credited with each photo
    Geography
    Geotagged photos within 8 km of the city center
    Updates
    Continuously contributed; refreshed on import

  • .gov domain list

    Last imported

    Official .gov web addresses of city governments, used to find and verify each city's official website.

    Publisher
    Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Registered city governments
    Updates
    Updated regularly by CISA

  • Census Gazetteer and population estimates

    Not yet imported

    The list of cities, populations, coordinates, land area and ZIP codes.

    Publisher
    U.S. Census Bureau
    Licence
    Public domain (U.S. government work)
    Geography
    Incorporated place / CDP
    Updates
    Annual

  • Wikidata

    Last imported

    City descriptions, elevation, founding year, website, image and time zone.

    Publisher
    Wikimedia Foundation
    Licence
    CC0 1.0
    Geography
    City
    Updates
    Continuously edited; refreshed on import

Spotted a mistake or want us to use another dataset? Let us know.