1001 counties · 22 indicators · 8 government data sources

The Boom Town Index

1001 U.S. counties ranked by long-term economic strength vs. housing cost. Counties where quality of life, job growth, and affordability outpace home prices score highest. Government data, no opinions.

What Scores High
Counties where what you get outpaces what you pay. Quality of life, job growth, affordability, and current price trends all feed the score — but the core signal is the gap between local economic strength and housing cost.
The Score
0–100 composite from 22 indicators across 8 federal datasets. Measures long-term structural value, not short-term momentum. Think of it as a P/E ratio for housing.
How to Use
Sort, filter by population or climate, then click any county for the full breakdown: forecasts, employer data, comparable counties, and neighborhood-level detail.
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Population
Climate & Terrain
Safety

Top Counties

Percentile: Low
High
Rank County BTI Score Signals Safety 1yr Forecast 5yr Outlook GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R

[ED] Latest Analysis

Editorial takes on the data — what the rankings can't say in headline form.

Why the 'Safest County in America' Keeps Changing
Editorial

Why the 'Safest County in America' Keeps Changing

Ask which U.S. county is safest and the answer keeps changing — because in a small county one homicide swings the rate. Here's the statistics underneath it.
Why America's Safest Counties Cluster in the North
Editorial

Why America's Safest Counties Cluster in the North

Of the 50 safest large U.S. counties, 41 sit in the Northeast or Midwest. The reason isn't the weather — it's county lines, wealth, and how deaths get counted.
Which States Are Losing Population — and Why Home Prices There Rarely Fall
Editorial

Which States Are Losing Population — and Why Home Prices There Rarely Fall

A quarter of the U.S. counties we track are losing residents. In 86% of them, home prices are still rising. Here's why fewer people rarely means cheaper homes.
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U.S. county economic strength by state Browse by State

Explore all 51 states ranked by average BTI score. See which states offer the strongest long-term value.

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Fundamentals vs. Momentum
Specs

Counties in Decline

Rank County BTI Score Signals Safety 1yr Forecast 5yr Outlook GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R

[SYS] How We Score

The BTI Score identifies counties where what you get outpaces what you pay. An ML model trained on 20 years of data learns which factors predict long-term county outperformance. Here's what it found:

Quality of Life39%
Price Momentum25%
Jobs & Wages13%
Housing Valuation10%
GDP Growth8%

Weights are learned from data, not manually assigned. Excludes national macro conditions (~19%) which affect all counties equally.

Read the full methodology →