How to Read Your Neighborhood Intelligence Report

A statistical subdivision of a county containing roughly 1,200–8,000 residents, used by the Census Bureau to report demographic data. Tract boundaries are redrawn after each decennial census; data from before and after a redraw may describe slightly different geographies.

An ongoing Census Bureau survey that produces annual estimates for population, housing, income, education, and more. The 5-year ACS pools five years of survey responses to produce reliable estimates at the tract level — but they are estimates, not counts. Every figure comes with a margin of error that tells you how reliable it is.

A published range indicating statistical uncertainty. A homeownership rate of 16% ±4% means the true value is likely between 12% and 20%. When the margin of error is large relative to the estimate, the number is telling you less than it appears to. "Suppressed" figures are ones the Census withholds because the sample is too small to report reliably.

The share of occupied housing units where residents own rather than rent. Low ownership (under 20%) generally means the population turns over more frequently, institutional landlords may hold significant power, and residents may have less investment in long-term neighborhood decisions. It does not mean residents do not care about where they live.

The percentage of residents who moved into their unit within the past year or few years. High mobility (above 30–40%) means the social fabric is constantly being rewoven. Long-term relationships are harder to form and sustain. For missional presence, this changes the strategy significantly: you are not just meeting neighbors; you are meeting neighbors who may be gone in two years.

The share of households with no car. In urban areas, this can reflect both choice (people who prefer transit) and constraint (people who cannot afford a car). Combined with the Transit Score and disability estimates, it helps you understand whether nearby assets are actually reachable for residents who need them most.

A very low figure here (under 5%) does not mean no children live in the neighborhood — it means the data sample is too small to report reliably, or that the tract genuinely skews toward single adults and couples. Either way, it shapes which entry points into community life make sense.

In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation graded American neighborhoods A through D to guide federal mortgage lending. "Redlined" neighborhoods — typically those with significant Black, immigrant, or working-class populations — were graded C or D, making it nearly impossible for residents to obtain federally backed mortgages. A grade of "Commercial" means the parcel was a commercial block and received no residential grade. These maps shaped neighborhood wealth trajectories for decades.

A Brown University dataset that standardizes historical census data to modern tract boundaries, allowing comparison across decades. The racial composition figures (e.g., 99.8% White in 1970 → 78.2% White in 2020) describe long-term demographic change. The causes of that change — gentrification, white flight, urban renewal, or organic migration — are not established by the numbers alone.

The Negro Motorist Green Book (1936–1966) listed hotels, restaurants, and businesses safe for Black travelers during segregation. Its absence from a neighborhood’s record may mean no such business existed nearby — or that records were not indexed for that area. It is a gap in the archive, not proof of absence.

A federal model that estimates the combined cost of housing plus transportation as a percentage of income. A figure above 45% is considered cost-burdened by federal standards. When this figure is 53% or higher, residents are spending more than half their income simply getting to work and keeping a roof overhead — leaving very little margin for anything else. This is a modeled estimate, not a direct measurement.

A relative composite score for natural hazard risk (flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc.). "Relatively Low" means this tract scores below most of the country on the combined index — not that it faces no risk. In coastal states, "relatively low" risk still means more exposure than the national average in many categories.

Princeton’s Eviction Lab tracks eviction filings at the tract level. These figures are often from 2017–2018 and reflect a larger, differently bounded tract. They document an earlier pattern of housing instability — patterns of eviction rarely reverse quickly, but they cannot be read as a current-condition measure.

The USDA categorizes tracts as "low income and low access" based on income thresholds and distance to a supermarket. "Not low income, not low access" means the tract meets neither threshold — but nearby groceries may still be unaffordable for some residents, and urban distance thresholds assume closer proximity than rural ones.

Reported as a county-level figure from the US Religion Census. It measures the share of the county population who are members of a religious congregation — not the share who attend, believe, or consider themselves spiritual. A 49% adherence rate means roughly half the county is on a church roll; it says nothing about practice, commitment, or spiritual openness.

The county population minus adherents. This is not a measure of spiritual need or hunger — it is a rough proxy for how many people in the county are not currently connected to a congregation. Many in this group will identify as spiritual but not religious, formerly churched, or simply unaffiliated.

The count of IRS-registered nonprofits in the ZIP code — which typically spans a much larger area than the census tract. These organizations may or may not serve the tract specifically. They represent existing care infrastructure worth knowing and, potentially, worth partnering with.

A CDC program producing small-area health estimates for every US census tract, derived from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Because no survey covers every tract directly, the model uses neighboring tracts, demographic predictors, and spatial smoothing. Results labeled "TIGHT" have a narrow confidence interval; "LOOSE" results are less certain.

Published by the CDC/ATSDR, the SVI ranks tracts on four themes: socioeconomic status, household characteristics, racial and ethnic minority status, and housing type and transportation. Percentile rankings go from 0 to 100; higher means more vulnerable. A 96th percentile score on housing and transportation means this tract faces more vulnerability on those dimensions than 96% of US tracts.

These figures estimate the share of adults who reported 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month, or who reported a doctor’s diagnosis of depression. In neighborhoods with high mobility, housing pressure, and limited social infrastructure, mental health burdens are often compounded by isolation.

The share of adults reporting any disability — cognitive, hearing, vision, mobility, self-care, or independent living. A figure of 31% means roughly one in three adults lives with some form of disability. Combined with Walk Score and grocery proximity, this tells you whether the neighborhood’s walkability actually reaches the people who need it most.