Methodology
Data sources & how we label them
Everything on this site is sourced, dated and labeled. Where a figure is a ZIP-area estimate rather than a municipal number, we say so on the page. Where we have nothing verified yet, we leave it blank instead of estimating.
Current coverage
- Municipalities
- 235
- Regions
- 7
- Metric records
- 1,607
- Tax-rate records
- 0
- Commute records
- 0
Sources in use
SimpleMaps US Cities v1.94
SimpleMaps · commercial dataset · annual
ZIP-area derived housing and commute estimates. Population figures are ZIP-area based, not municipal counts. Demographic and protected-class fields are excluded from import.
https://simplemaps.com/data/us-cities
How to read the numbers
ZIP-area estimates. Housing values, rents, ownership share and average commute time come from ZIP-code tabulation areas mapped to the nearest municipality. A ZIP area can be larger or smaller than town lines, so treat these as directional comparisons between communities rather than official municipal statistics.
Attribute scores. Coastal, lake, mountain, urban, rural and commuting access scores are computed from published coordinates, land area and population density. They describe geography and travel distance only — never the people who live in a community.
Property tax rates. Rates are shown with their tax year and the municipality or state source they came from. Always confirm the current rate with the town before making a financial decision.
What we exclude. We do not publish or use demographic characteristics protected under fair housing law in any ranking, filter or recommendation. All recommendations are based on geography, housing stock and travel distance only.
Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us on the contact form and we'll check the source.