FAQ

What are Neighborhood Quality-of-Life Indices?

Neighborhood Quality-of-Life Indices measure everyday access to amenities and the character of the surrounding area around a U.S. address. They are designed to answer a practical question when evaluating a home or neighborhood: what will day-to-day life at this property feel like?

Fitting Insights tracks 12 distinct neighborhood dimensions — 8 core access indices and 4 neighborhood character indices — and scores each location from 0.0 to 10.0 relative to its surrounding area.

How is this different from the scores on property listing websites?

Property listing websites typically rely on a small number of broad, static metrics — most commonly Walk Score, Transit Score, Bike Score, and regional school or climate ratings. While useful as a high-level summary, those scores fall short when comparing real homes in three ways:

Low granularity within the same city or neighborhood: On a single national 0–100 scale, almost every neighborhood in Manhattan scores a 98 to 100 on Walk Score and Transit Score, and regional climate scores across Houston show almost no variation. When every listing on your shortlist has the same score, it cannot help you choose between them.
Everything folded into one number: Standard walkability scores combine groceries, bars, parks, schools, and dining into a single composite score. A block packed with late-night bars can receive the same score as a quiet block next to a supermarket, elementary school, and park.
Fixed distance cutoffs: Standard walkability metrics cap out within a 0.25-to-1.5-mile walking radius, offering little insight in suburban or car-oriented areas where daily life happens within a 2-to-5-mile drive.

Fitting Insights addresses these gaps by separating daily life into 12 specific categories, scoring each block relative to its own surrounding neighborhood (or head-to-head across addresses), and letting you adjust the search radius from 1/3 mile to 5 miles.

What are the 12 indices?

Core Quality-of-Life Indices (Higher Score = More Nearby Access)

Walk: Measures how easy it is to get around on foot — rewarding sidewalks, crosswalks, and paths, while highways and industry lower the score.
Public Transport: Measures transit access for getting around without a car — weighted toward subway, rail, bus, and ferry stations, plus local stops.
Grocery: Measures everyday access to fresh food and staples — anchored by supermarkets and farmers markets, plus bakeries, delis, and specialty grocers.
Life: Measures nearby dining, leisure, and everyday errands — restaurants, cafes, gyms, libraries, theaters, and daily services.
Nature: Measures access to green space, water, and outdoor recreation — rewarding parks, trails, beaches, and woods, while highways and industry lower the score.
Family: Measures proximity to family-oriented amenities — schools, childcare, playgrounds, parks, libraries, and community centers.
Emergency: Measures proximity to emergency response and medical care — led by hospitals, fire, and police stations, plus urgent care and pharmacies.
Parking: Measures off-street parking capacity around the address — garages, multi-level structures, and surface lots.

Neighborhood Character & Intensity (Preference-Dependent)

These indices describe the surrounding built environment and activity level. A higher score indicates more intensity rather than a better or worse area.

Density: Reflects the concentration of apartments, offices, hotels, and multi-story buildings relative to single-family homes (higher = more urban; lower = more residential).
Vice: Reflects the concentration of nightlife and adult venues — bars, clubs, casinos, liquor stores, and dispensaries (higher = livelier; lower = quieter).
Big Box Retail: Reflects proximity to large-format, car-oriented shopping — supercenters, warehouse clubs, malls, strip centers, and drive-thru chains.
NIMBY: “Not In My Backyard” — reflects proximity to heavy industry, landfills, quarries, datacenters, rail yards, and major construction (higher = more exposure).

How does it work?

For any address in the United States, we evaluate the surrounding area across three dimensions:

Block-level resolution: We divide the country into small neighborhood-block areas rather than relying on broad ZIP codes or city-wide averages.
400+ weighted local features: Around each location, we count and weight over 400 types of positive and negative features. Primary destinations that anchor daily life — such as supermarkets, public parks, schools, hospitals, and transit stations — carry more weight than minor conveniences like corner stores, single bus stops, or benches. Features that create physical barriers or noise — such as highways, heavy industry, or landfills — lower relevant scores like Walk, Nature, and Family.
Adjustable distance radii (1/3 mile to 5 miles): Because a 5-minute walk in a dense city is very different from a 5-minute drive in a suburb, every index is pre-calculated across multiple distance rings from 1/3 mile (right outside your door) to 5 miles (driving reach).

What’s the difference between Relative to Nearby and Comparative views?

Relative to Nearby (1 to 3 addresses) compares each address against the other locations in its own surrounding neighborhood (~2 miles) at your selected radius. A score of 5.0 is the local area midpoint, 7.0+ is a local standout, and below 4.5 is below average for that area. It answers: how well-situated is this property within its neighborhood?

Comparative (2 or 3 addresses) compares your entered addresses directly against one another on a head-to-head basis, regardless of what neighborhood or city they are in. What matters here is the size of the difference between the scores in each category. It answers: how does Property A compare directly to Property B across these categories?

What kinds of questions can these indices help answer?

I have young children — is this property close to schools, playgrounds, and parks? (Family, Nature)
I have an elderly parent living with me — which property has better access to hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and grocery stores? (Emergency, Grocery)
I have a dog — are there parks, trails, and sidewalks right outside the door? (Nature, Walk at 1/3 or 1 mile)
Which of the apartments I’m considering is in an area with the highest concentration of restaurants, cafes, and nightlife? (Life, Vice, Density)
Is this home near heavy industry, landfills, quarries, datacenters, or major construction sites? (NIMBY)

Where does the data come from, and how is it updated?

The indices are built from publicly available map data covering roads, buildings, parks, transit stops, and local businesses across the United States. Scores are updated periodically as neighborhoods and local features change.