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How PlacesRated.com Works

Through PlacesRated.com, we combine the trusted information from Places Rated Almanac and Retirement Places Rated with the power of the market-leading decision tool, Expert Choice. By answering a few questions, we help you to determine the relative importance of common location preferences – and how they relate to you, not someone else. The following is the information we have put together on each of the different locations for you to use in finding your next hometown:

  • Cost of Living
  • The Economy
  • Weather
  • Transportation
  • Health Care
  • Education
  • Recreation
  • Location
  • Safety
Where we get our Data
 
COST OF LIVING
Housing Costs
American Gas Association, Gas Facts; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review; National Association of Realtors, quarterly existing home sales data; Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Places Rated surveys.
 
Shopping Cart
American Automobile Association, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Consumer Expenditures; Health Care Financing Administration, Relative Value Units and Geographic Practice Cost Indexes; Internal Revenue Service, Publication 600; Places Rated surveys; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., proprietary household income estimates and forecasts.
 
State and Local Taxes
Commerce Clearing House, State Tax Guide; Federation of Tax Administrators, Tax Rates.
 
THE ECONOMY
Quality
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wages by Area and Occupation; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., proprietary earnings estimates and forecasts.
 
Growth Forecast
Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., proprietary employment estimates and forecasts by industry.
 
Unemployment Risk
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Historical County Unemployment Rates.
 
WEATHER
All Data
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Series 20 publications and Local Climatological Data.
 
TRANSPORTATION
Airline Connections
Federal Aviation Administration, origin and destination surveys; Places Rated surveys.
 
Short Commutes
Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Federal Highway Administration, urbanized area traffic and travel data.
 
Public Transportation
American Public Transit Association, Transit Fact Book; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database.
 
HEALTH CARE
Physicians
American Medical Association, Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the United States; Bureau of Health Care Professions, Area Resource File.
 
Hospital Services
American Hospital Association, Guide to the Health Care Field.
 
EDUCATION
K-12
Department of Education, Core of Common Data.
 
Higher Education
Department of Education, Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System.
 
RECREATION
Great Outdoors
Census Bureau, unpublished area measurements; Fish & Wildlife Service, Annual Report; Inter-Ski Associates, White Book; National Forest Service, Land Areas of the National Forest System; National Golf Foundation, proprietary facilities data; National Park Service, unpublished “Master Deed Listing”; Places Rated surveys
 
Crowd Pleasers
American Automobile Association, Tour Books; League of American Orchestras, Symphony Magazine; Major League Baseball, Directory; Musical America, Annual Directory; National Basketball Association, Directory; National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football; National Football League, Directory; National Hockey League, Directory; Opera America, Directory; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., proprietary general and specialty retail sales estimates and forecasts.
 
LOCATION
Historic Interest
National Register of Historic Places, NRIS Database.
 
Scenic/Natural
Census Bureau, unpublished area measurements; Economic Research Service, unpublished “Natural Amenities Scale.”
 
SAFETY
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports.

How to Get Started
  1. Enter the online decision tool.
  2. Answer a series of questions.
  3. Review how your preferences are rated.
  4. Read your report.
  5. Start to find a home and get your things packed!

The tool is easy and quick to use. We think you’ll be amazed by the results.

 




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