Explore 3,144 US Counties by Score

Frequently Asked Questions

What layers are available on the map?

The map offers baseline CountyScore layers plus specialized overlays. Baseline CountyScore is calculated from nine weighted dimensions — Overall Score (composite), Property Tax, Cost of Living, Income & Jobs, Safety, Health, Schools, Disaster Risk, Water Quality, and Weather. AI Water Risk is a separate map overlay that uses a 3 by 3 bivariate grid for water stress and data center density; it is a specialized map layer and does not change the baseline composite. The baseline layers color-code counties from low to high scores.

How are county scores calculated?

Each county receives a composite score from 0 to 100, calculated as a weighted average of nine baseline dimensions: property tax burden, cost of living, income and jobs, safety (crime rates), health outcomes, school quality, disaster risk, water quality, and weather. Raw data from government sources is normalized to a 0-100 scale for each dimension, then combined into the overall score.

How many counties are shown on the map?

All 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents are displayed on the map. This includes parishes in Louisiana, boroughs in Alaska, and independent cities in Virginia. Every county is scored across all available dimensions.

Can I share a specific map view?

Yes, the URL updates automatically when you switch layers. Copy the URL from your browser to share a direct link to a specific data layer, such as the safety or property tax view.

Where does the data come from?

All data comes from free, publicly available government sources: the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (tax, cost, income), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (safety), CDC County Health Rankings (health), NCES (schools), FEMA National Risk Index (disaster risk), EPA SDWIS (water quality), and NOAA/NCEI (weather).