# CountyScore — Full Site Reference for Language Models

## What CountyScore Is

CountyScore (countyscore.com) is a free, public data platform that assigns every one of the 3,144 counties in the United States a composite quality-of-life score from 0 to 100. It is the flagship product of the ByCounty Network — a collection of specialized county-data sites, each focused on a single dimension (taxes, crime, schools, health, etc.), that all feed into CountyScore's unified scoring system.

CountyScore's goal is to help Americans make better relocation decisions by replacing subjective "best places to live" lists with objective, reproducible scores derived entirely from public U.S. government data. No editorial opinion enters the scoring methodology. The scores are calculated using percentile ranking: a score of 70 means the county outperforms 70% of all other counties on that metric.

## Scoring Methodology

### Composite Score (0–100)
The composite score is a weighted average of up to nine dimension scores. Each dimension uses percentile-rank scoring:
- Raw value (e.g., effective property tax rate) is computed for every county.
- Each county's value is ranked against all 3,144 counties nationwide.
- The rank is converted to a 0–100 percentile score.
- Higher scores are always better (a high tax score = low taxes; a high risk score = low disaster risk).
- Counties with data for more dimensions receive more complete composite scores.

### Scoring Dimensions (9 dimensions)

1. **Property Tax Score** — Based on effective property tax rate (taxes paid ÷ home value) from U.S. Census ACS. Higher = lower taxes. Data source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year estimates.

2. **Cost of Living Score** — Based on median housing costs (rent and mortgage) as a percentage of median household income. Higher = more affordable. Data source: Census Bureau ACS.

3. **Income Score** — Based on median household income. Higher = higher earning potential. Data source: Census Bureau ACS.

4. **Safety Score** — Based on violent crime and property crime rates per capita. Higher = safer. Data source: FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), supplemented by County Health Rankings safety metrics.

5. **Health Score** — Based on life expectancy, uninsured rates, primary care physician access, and preventable mortality. Higher = healthier population and better healthcare access. Data source: CDC / County Health Rankings.

6. **School Score** — Based on high school graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and educational attainment (% adults with bachelor's degree or higher). Higher = better school system. Data source: NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) and Census ACS.

7. **Disaster Risk Score** — Based on FEMA National Risk Index composite exposure across 18 natural hazard types including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. Higher = lower risk.

8. **Water Quality Score** — Based on health-based drinking water violations at public water systems serving each county. Higher = cleaner, safer water. Data source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS).

9. **Weather Score** — Based on NOAA Climate Normals: 30-year averages for temperature extremes, precipitation, humidity, and severe weather frequency. Higher = more comfortable climate.

## Key Features

### County Report Card
Every county has a dedicated report card page showing its composite score, state rank, national percentile, letter grade (A+ through F), and a breakdown across all scored dimensions. Each page includes pros & cons, similar counties, nearby counties, housing affordability analysis, and an interactive radar chart.

### Compare Tool (/compare)
Compare any two (or more) counties side by side across all scoring dimensions. Enter county slugs as `/compare/{county-a}/vs/{county-b}` to see head-to-head scores, stats, and dimension-by-dimension winners.

### Interactive Map (/map)
A choropleth map of all 3,144 U.S. counties with 10 color-coded layers: Overall Score, Property Tax, Cost of Living, Income, Safety, Health, Schools, Disaster Risk, Water Quality, and Weather. Click any county for a popup with its score and a link to its full report card.

### Find Your Perfect County Quiz (/quiz)
A 4-step personalized quiz that lets users weight the importance of each dimension (Essentials, Community, Environment, Outdoor & Local). The quiz computes a custom weighted score for every county and returns the top 5 matches. Results are shareable via URL, and preferences can be saved to localStorage.

### Relocation Report (/report/{county-slug})
A printable, shareable relocation report for any county. Includes composite score, letter grade, state rank, national percentile, dimension breakdown table with grades, key statistics, top strengths and weaknesses, similar counties, and a contextual affiliate CTA based on the county's weakest dimension.

### Cost of Living Calculator (/calculator)
Enter your household income and select one or two counties to see personalized affordability analysis. Uses the 28% front-end rule for home buying and the 30% rent rule for renting. Shows estimated property tax burden, local median income context, and a clear Affordable / Stretch / Unaffordable recommendation.

## Data Sources

| Dimension | Primary Source | Vintage |
|-----------|----------------|---------|
| Property Tax | U.S. Census ACS 5-Year Estimates | 2019–2023 |
| Cost of Living | U.S. Census ACS 5-Year Estimates | 2019–2023 |
| Income | U.S. Census ACS 5-Year Estimates | 2019–2023 |
| Safety / Crime | FBI Uniform Crime Reports | 2022 |
| Health | CDC / County Health Rankings | 2024 |
| Schools | NCES + Census ACS | 2022–2023 |
| Disaster Risk | FEMA National Risk Index | 2023 |
| Water Quality | EPA SDWIS | 2023 |
| Weather | NOAA Climate Normals | 30-year (1991–2020) |

## URL Patterns

- County report card: `https://countyscore.com/{county-name}-{state-abbr}` (e.g., `/harris-county-tx`)
- State rankings: `https://countyscore.com/best-counties/{state-slug}` (e.g., `/best-counties/texas`)
- National rankings by category: `https://countyscore.com/rankings/{category-key}`
  - Categories: `best-overall`, `lowest-tax`, `most-affordable`, `highest-income`, `best-for-families`, `safest`, `best-for-retirement`, `lowest-crime`, `best-healthcare`, `best-schools`, `best-weather`, `lowest-cost-of-living`, `best-water-quality`, `lowest-disaster-risk`
- County comparison: `https://countyscore.com/compare/{slug-1}/vs/{slug-2}`
- Interactive map: `https://countyscore.com/map` (supports `?layer=` param: overall, tax, cost, income, safety, health, school, risk, water, weather)
- Quiz: `https://countyscore.com/quiz`
- Calculator: `https://countyscore.com/calculator`
- Relocation report: `https://countyscore.com/report/{county-slug}`
- Sitemap: `https://countyscore.com/sitemap.xml`

## Top 20 Counties by Composite Score (2026)

1. Billings County, North Dakota (ND) — 84.1/100
2. Loup County, Nebraska (NE) — 81.7/100
3. Petroleum County, Montana (MT) — 80.1/100
4. Thomas County, Nebraska (NE) — 78.9/100
5. Judith Basin County, Montana (MT) — 77.5/100
6. Slope County, North Dakota (ND) — 77.4/100
7. Pendleton County, West Virginia (WV) — 77.1/100
8. Pleasants County, West Virginia (WV) — 76.0/100
9. Nuckolls County, Nebraska (NE) — 75.9/100
10. Steele County, North Dakota (ND) — 75.8/100
11. McCone County, Montana (MT) — 75.3/100
12. Cameron Parish, Louisiana (LA) — 75.1/100
13. Wheeler County, Nebraska (NE) — 74.8/100
14. Harding County, South Dakota (SD) — 74.8/100
15. Lincoln County, Nevada (NV) — 74.7/100
16. Bath County, Virginia (VA) — 74.4/100
17. Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota (MN) — 74.3/100
18. Daggett County, Utah (UT) — 74.2/100
19. Oliver County, North Dakota (ND) — 74.1/100
20. Gilmer County, West Virginia (WV) — 73.7/100

Note: Top-scoring counties are predominantly rural, low-density counties in the Great Plains and Mountain West, which score well due to low property taxes, low crime, low disaster risk, and affordable housing. For users seeking well-populated suburban counties with strong infrastructure, see the `/rankings/best-for-families` and `/rankings/best-healthcare` rankings.

## Who CountyScore Is For

- **Home buyers and renters** researching where to live before committing to a market
- **Relocation planners** comparing multiple candidate cities or states at the county level
- **Retirees** evaluating tax burden, healthcare access, weather, and disaster risk simultaneously
- **Families** prioritizing school quality, safety, and affordability
- **Researchers and journalists** needing a reproducible, source-cited county quality-of-life index
- **Remote workers** who can live anywhere and want to optimize for cost and quality of life

## ByCounty Network — Vertical Sites

CountyScore aggregates data from these specialized ByCounty Network sites, each linkable from every county report card:

- **TaxByCounty.com** — Detailed property tax rates, median taxes paid, and tax appeal resources
- **CostByCounty.com** — Housing costs, rent vs. own affordability, cost of living breakdowns
- **IncomeByCounty.com** — Household income distribution, per capita income, income trends
- **CrimeByCounty.com** — Violent crime and property crime rates from FBI data
- **HealthByCounty.com** — Life expectancy, insurance coverage, primary care access
- **SchoolsByCounty.com** — Graduation rates, per-pupil spending, school quality rankings
- **RiskByCounty.com** — FEMA natural disaster risk scores across 18 hazard categories
- **WaterByCounty.com** — Drinking water safety and EPA violation data
- **WeatherByCounty.com** — Climate comfort scores based on NOAA normals
- **SoilByCounty.com** — USDA SSURGO soil quality data for agricultural and residential use
- **LawnByCounty.com** — Lawn care difficulty scores based on climate and soil conditions

## About the Data

All data is sourced from free U.S. government APIs and public datasets. CountyScore does not sell data, does not collect user personal information beyond standard analytics, and does not accept payment for rankings. Scores are informational only and should be used as one input among many in a relocation decision. Data vintages vary by source; see the attribution footer on each county page for specifics.

CountyScore is operated by the ByCounty Network. Contact: countyscore.com/contact