How to Find the Best Place to Live

The program above covers more than 22,000 cities and neighborhoods. Our job is to help you find the best places to live in the St. Louis area. This is done by assigning a Livability Score out of 100 to any address, zip code, neighborhood or city that you think of. The Livability score comes from a unique algorithm based on various metrics for each city, including: amenities, cost of living, crime rates, education, employment, housing and weather.  Very simply, the higher the score, the better the city. Once the score is assigned to a particular area, a list of other nearby neighborhoods and cities will also be displayed based on their Livablility Scores, creating a list of the best places to live.

In addition to the AreaVibes Livability Score, you will also find a wealth of demographic information for each neighborhood and city, such as: population, male to female ratio, household income, income per capita, marital status, racial breakdown, languages spoken and much more.  You will also find in depth information about: crime rates, cost of living, schools, employment, air quality, housing, transportation and weather.  It's never been easier to compare one city to another to help you determine if an area is right for you.

Methodology

How is the Livability Score computed?  Great question!  Let's take a closer look and see if we can explain with the following key factors:

Amenities

The amenities category is based on various important nearby local amenities. These include: grocery stores, restaurants, bars, shopping, coffee shops, schools, parks, libraries, book stores, entertainment, public transportation and fitness facilities.  The more local amenities from each category located within 1 mile of the desired location will result in a higher score.  Start Your Home Search Here

Cost of Living

These are various categories within the cost of living score that create the overall cost of living index.  Weights are assisgned based on government survey data and include the following items: goods and services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%).  The score is then calculated based on comparisons to both state and national averages.

Crime Rates

The 2 main categories of crime are vilent crime and property crime.  Within each category there are various types of crime.  Viloent crime includes: murder, rape, robbery and assault.  Property crime includes: burglary, theft and vehicle theft.  A total crime index is based on all total crimes.  Higher weights are given to violent crimes as they are more severe.  The score is calculated based on comparisons to both state and nationa averages.

Education

To determine the education score, the program uses the following criteria:  student to teacher ration, education level achieved and number of schools nearby.  The score is then calculated based on comparisons to both state and national averages.

Employment

To determine the employment score, the following criteria is used: income per capita, median household income and unemployment rates.  The score is then calculated based on comparisons to both state and national averages.

Housing

To determine the housing score, a combination of factors were used including: median home values in relation to median household income as well as median rent values in relation to median household income for renter occupied dwellings.  Also included were appreciiation rates for average home prices for the previous 10 years.  The score is then calculated based on comparisons to both state and national averages.   Start Your St Louis Home Search Now

Weather

To determine the weather score, tjhe following factors were used:  average temperatures for summer and winter months as well as precipitation.  Ideal summer average temperatures would be approximately 75 degrees and average winter temperatures of 55 degrees would garner high marks.

Data Sources

• US Census Data
• Google Places
• FBI Uniform Crime Reports
• Council for Community and Economic Research
• United States Environmental Protection Agency
• National Weather Service

  Let Finding Homes for You Help You Analyze the Data

Too much data? Falling asleep in front of your computer trying to figure out the best place to look for your home?  Let the experts at Finding Homes for You help you in the process.  Data is good, but the analysis and interpretation of informaiton is even better!

We are here to help you find the best home, compare it to other properties, negotiate the best price, and even take care of the paperwork for you.  We have simplified the process to reduce your stress.

We never work for the seller ... only you, the buyer.  No conflict of interests just representing you from start to end.  Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

Call us at 636-532-4200 today to get started!