Livability
How is your community doing?
There are lots of ways to answer that question. Scroll through the maps to explore how each measure presents a different picture of how well people live in places.
Choice-Based Approach: “Quality of Life”
This approach uses insights based on where people choose to live and work. The central idea behind this method for estimating quality of life is that individuals “reveal” how desirable a place is through their willingness to pay high housing costs and accept lower wages. Using data from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey five-year estimates, this method assumes people will pay more to live in a place with a high quality of life and accept a lower wage. Places with a high estimated quality of life are often rich with different types of amenities households value such as parks, good weather, scenic views, charming Main Streets, concert venues, and cultural celebrations.
*Data subject to updates.