Environment score

Name: Environment score by US county
Creator: PlaceStats composite score

Air quality from monitors and the damage natural disasters are expected to do to buildings each year, flipped so higher is better. It covers only counties with an air monitor, about one in four. The county's own model of fine dust is left out, since it is fitted to the same monitors.

Reported for801areas, in 50 states — none in CT, PR

Link to density0.03not mostly about how urban a place is

Nearby places alike0.41Moran’s I: strongly, neighbouring places tend to be similar

Typeratestandard deviations

How it has moved

Loading…

Every state, every year

Nothing to draw here: this measure has no state figures. Its publisher reports it for counties. This site does not add county numbers up into state figures, since a home-made figure could clash with one an agency publishes itself. The chart above covers the whole country, year by year.

Where it comes from

PlaceStats composite score · derived from 2 measures (AQS, NRI)

The average of 2 measures from 2 publishers. Each measure is first put on a common scale: how many typical gaps between places (standard deviations) it sits above or below the average. Each is also flipped where needed, so higher is always better. Measures from the same publisher are averaged first, then the publishers are averaged together. Each level is scaled on its own. A county's score shows where it stands among counties, and a state's shows where it stands among states. The two are not on one scale, so do not compare them with each other. This is a summary, not a measurement.

Combining areas: it cannot be combined, so it is shown only where its publisher works it out.

What it goes with

The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 8 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.

Measure	Unadjusted	Adjusted
Environment score and Natural amenities scaleWhere Environment score is higher, Natural amenities scale tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Natural amenities scale by US county	-0.34	-0.38
Environment score and Population (WONDER)Where Environment score is higher, Population (WONDER) tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Population (WONDER) by US county	-0.27	-0.35
Environment score and Median gross rentWhere Environment score is higher, Median gross rent tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Median gross rent by US county	-0.14	-0.35
Environment score and Winter nightly lowWhere Environment score is higher, Winter nightly low tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Winter nightly low by US county	-0.32	-0.34
Environment score and Lacking social and emotional supportWhere Environment score is higher, Lacking social and emotional support tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Lacking social and emotional support by US county	-0.34	-0.33
Environment score and Social connection scoreWhere Environment score is higher, Social connection score tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Social connection score by US county	+0.29	+0.30

Population makeup

How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.

Share of residents	Unadjusted	Adjusted
Environment score and Share White, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share White, not Hispanic by US county	+0.19	+0.19
Environment score and Share Black, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county	-0.07	-0.05
Environment score and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county	-0.16	-0.16
Environment score and Share Asian, not HispanicWhere Environment score is higher, Share Asian, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county	-0.11	-0.20
Environment score and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county	+0.09	+0.10

Highest and lowest

Of 801 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.

Highest

Lowest

The middle area reports 0.0434. The middle half of counties falls between -0.326 and 0.357 (the 25th to 75th percentile).

US Counties With the Highest Environment Scores · US Counties With the Lowest Environment Scores

All measures · Explore its pairs · How the US county data works