Community Investment Score
Parks, libraries, recreation, housing and community programs: how much, how steadily, and how it is trending.
Definition
The Community Investment Score measures how much a city invests in shared community life (parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development), whether that investment is growing, and how steady it is. Public safety and general infrastructure are measured separately and excluded.
What goes into it
| Component | What it captures | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Investment intensity | Community spending as a share of the budget and per resident. The largest factor. | Census government finances |
| Trend | Whether inflation-adjusted community investment is rising | Census government finances, BLS CPI |
| Execution | Whether budgeted community spending is actually delivered. Not in this release. | Budget-vs-actual schedules |
| Peer position | Community investment compared with similar-sized cities | Census government finances |
| Stability | How consistent investment is year to year | Census government finances |
Park and library districts
In some states, parks or libraries are run by separate districts rather than the city. When a city reports no spending on one of these and such a district serves its county, its profile says so and its confidence is lowered, because the score understates what residents receive.
Example
San Ramon, CA
Distribution
8,056 US cities. Highlighted bar: San Ramon (37).
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (individual unit files) · FY 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0) · 2024 annual average
Limitations
- National finance categories can't separate golf courses, marinas or stadiums from neighborhood parks.
- Consolidated city-county governments include county services in their spending.
- One-time federal relief funds (2021–2024) raised many cities' recent spending; the stability component helps flag this.
Technical methodology
Technical methodology for partners
Data partners receive the full technical methodology: exact inputs, time windows, weights, normalization and validation rules, so their model-risk, compliance and data-science teams can review every score.
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