How are cities scored?

Every metric is ranked into a percentile across all cities, flipped so 100 always means best, then combined into a weighted average — a single 0–100 composite. Nothing is hand-tuned per city.

Where does the data come from?

Only public data: the U.S. Census Bureau, CDC, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics, EPA, FEMA, and Zillow. Each metric uses that source's latest available release.

How often is it updated?

Scores recompute on a schedule. Most sources publish annually; unemployment and rent update monthly, so those use the latest figures available.

Why isn't my city ranked?

A city needs about 5,000 residents to be ranked by default (a toggle drops the floor to 1,000). Some metrics — crime, air quality, rent — only cover places where a source actually reports, so a city can be ranked on the rest.

Can I change what matters?

Yes. Drag the weight sliders on the homepage and the ranking re-sorts instantly in your browser — no page reload, no account.

Can I cite or reuse this?

Yes. The underlying data is public, and the full machine-readable ranking is published at /llms-full.txt.

Shcity ← All cities

How Shcity works

Shcity scores every sizable U.S. city on public data and lets you re-weight what matters to you. No surveys, no sponsored placements, no spin — just the numbers and a transparent recipe. Here's exactly how the score is built.

The score, step by step

1
Collect
We ingest one raw value per metric per city straight from the source agency — never from page-load scraping.
2
Rank into a percentile
Each metric is ranked across all cities. A city's percentile is where it falls in the national distribution for that metric.
3
Flip to “goodness”
We orient every metric the same way so 100 always means best. Lower crime, lower cost, higher income all push toward 100.
4
Weight & combine
Goodness scores are blended into one 0–100 composite using default weights that lead with the things people actually move for — safety, cost, and jobs.
5
Re-weight, live
Drag the sliders on the homepage and the whole ranking re-sorts instantly in your browser. The default is just a starting point.

Percentiles are computed against the full set of credible cities (5,000+ residents), so a smaller town is measured against the same yardstick rather than a different one. A city missing one source isn't punished — the remaining weights simply renormalize.

Tiers & grades

The 0–100 composite maps to a snarky tier and a letter grade so a score reads at a glance.

🏆 Elite80–100

👍 Solid65–79

😐 Meh50–64

🫤 Rough35–49

💀 Bad20–34

🚽 Totally Shcity0–19

The 22 metrics

Sorted by default weight — the factors that move the score most by default sit on top. “Better when” shows which direction helps a city.

Metric	Better when	Source	Geography	Weight
Violent crime rate Violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) per 100,000 residents.	Lower	FBI Crime Data Explorer	City	1.8×
Housing cost Median home value — how expensive it is to buy in. Higher = less affordable.	Lower	Census ACS (B25077)	City	1.7×
Unemployment rate Share of the labor force out of work.	Lower	BLS LAUS	County	1.6×
Rent Typical monthly rent (Zillow Observed Rent Index, all home types).	Lower	Zillow ZORI	City	1.4×
Median household income Median household income — a proxy for local economic health.	Higher	Census ACS	City	1.2×
Poverty rate Share of residents living below the federal poverty line.	Lower	Census ACS	City	1.1×
Property crime rate Burglary, theft, motor-vehicle theft and arson per 100,000 residents.	Lower	FBI CDE	City	1.1×
Bachelor's degree or higher Share of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.	Higher	Census ACS	City	1.0×
Natural disaster risk FEMA National Risk Index — wildfire, flood, earthquake, heat and more.	Lower	FEMA NRI	County	1.0×
Air quality (AQI) Median air quality index — lower is cleaner air.	Lower	EPA AirData	County	0.9×
Commute time Average one-way commute to work, in minutes.	Lower	Census ACS	City	0.9×
Poor mental health Adults reporting frequent poor mental health (14+ days a month).	Lower	CDC PLACES	City	0.8×
Uninsured adults Adults 18–64 without health insurance.	Lower	CDC PLACES	City	0.7×
Adult obesity Share of adults with obesity (BMI ≥ 30).	Lower	CDC PLACES	City	0.6×
Property-tax burden Median real-estate taxes paid as a share of home value.	Lower	Census ACS	City	0.6×
Unhealthy air days Days per year with unhealthy air (AQI above 100).	Lower	EPA AirData	County	0.6×
Physical inactivity Adults with no leisure-time physical activity.	Lower	CDC PLACES	City	0.5×
Adult smoking Share of adults who currently smoke.	Lower	CDC PLACES	City	0.5×
Broadband access Share of households with a broadband internet subscription.	Higher	Census ACS	City	0.5×
Population growth (5yr) 5-year population change — are people moving in, or fleeing?	Higher	Census ACS	City	0.4×
Homeownership Share of occupied homes that are owner-occupied.	Higher	Census ACS	City	0.4×
Income inequality Gini index of household income (0 = equal, 1 = unequal).	Lower	Census ACS	City	0.4×

Data sources

U.S. Census Bureau (ACS) ↗Annual
Income, housing cost, education, poverty, commute, broadband, homeownership, inequality, property tax, growth
CDC PLACES ↗Annual
Health: obesity, poor mental health, physical inactivity, smoking, uninsured
FBI Crime Data Explorer ↗Annual
Violent & property crime, where a local agency reports
Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS) ↗Monthly
Unemployment rate
EPA AirData ↗Annual
Air quality (AQI) and unhealthy-air days, where a monitor exists
FEMA National Risk Index ↗Periodic
Natural-disaster risk (wildfire, flood, quake, heat…)
Zillow (ZORI) ↗Monthly
Typical observed rent

Who counts, and the caveats

Cities of 5,000+ residents are ranked by default; a toggle drops the floor to 1,000, where data gets noisier.
Coverage varies by source — EPA needs a nearby air monitor, Zillow needs enough rental signal, and crime depends on a local agency reporting to the FBI. Cities are scored on whatever they do have.
Some metrics aren't published at city level. Unemployment (BLS), air quality (EPA), and disaster risk (FEMA) come by county, so every city in a county shares that figure — these are labeled “County-level.” And monthly series like unemployment are a point-in-time snapshot the agency later revises, so a single month can differ from what another site shows for a different month.
Sales tax and state income tax (shown in each page's score card, from Tax Foundation) are state-level context, not scored — only property tax, which is city-specific, folds into the composite. Income/sales rates are statewide, so they're labeled and never double-count the affordability already in housing, rent, and property tax.
Scores describe the data, not your life. They're a transparent starting point for comparison, not the final word on any place.

FAQ

How are cities scored?: Every metric is ranked into a percentile across all cities, flipped so 100 always means best, then combined into a weighted average — a single 0–100 composite. Nothing is hand-tuned per city.
Where does the data come from?: Only public data: the U.S. Census Bureau, CDC, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics, EPA, FEMA, and Zillow. Each metric uses that source's latest available release.
How often is it updated?: Scores recompute on a schedule. Most sources publish annually; unemployment and rent update monthly, so those use the latest figures available.
Why isn't my city ranked?: A city needs about 5,000 residents to be ranked by default (a toggle drops the floor to 1,000). Some metrics — crime, air quality, rent — only cover places where a source actually reports, so a city can be ranked on the rest.
Can I change what matters?: Yes. Drag the weight sliders on the homepage and the ranking re-sorts instantly in your browser — no page reload, no account.
Can I cite or reuse this?: Yes. The underlying data is public, and the full machine-readable ranking is published at /llms-full.txt.

Ready to look one up? Browse the rankings or search for your city.