Guides / Concern scores

How Consilium's concern scores work

Every Consilium Compare report gives each ZIP code two scores from 0 to 10: a crime concern score and an environmental concern score. Higher means more concern in the current data. A score describes the data, not the people who live there, and it isn't a recommendation.

Both scores are built the same way: an official baseline, plus a current layer of incidents that Consilium captures, records, and scores.

Crime concern score

• The baseline: FBI crime data. Reported crime for the police department that serves the ZIP code, adjusted so a small population can't swing the result on its own, and scaled against places nationwide.
• The current layer: Consilium crime incidents. Recent crimes Consilium captures and attributes to the ZIP, such as homicides, robberies, assaults, and burglaries. As recorded local activity builds, it carries more weight alongside the baseline.
• The result: one 0–10 score. The FBI rates and mapped incidents behind it appear next to the score in the report.

Environmental concern score

• The baseline: EPA release data. Industrial facilities near the ZIP that report chemical releases to the EPA: how close they are, how much they release, and what kinds of chemicals are involved, scaled against places nationwide.
• The current layer: Consilium environmental incidents. Recent events Consilium captures and attributes to the area, such as chemical spills, hazardous-material incidents, floods, and earthquakes. As recorded local activity builds, it carries more weight alongside the baseline.
• The result: one 0–10 score. The facilities, air readings, and mapped incidents behind it appear next to the score in the report.

How we keep the scores fair

• One national scale. Scores are benchmarked against places across the country, so a 6 means the same thing in New Jersey as in Arizona.
• Small places don't swing wildly. We adjust for population so one unusual year in a small town doesn't dominate.
• Thin data leans on the baseline. Where few recent incidents are recorded, the official baseline carries more of the score.
• Scores update as data arrives. New incidents and new federal releases flow into future reports.

What the scores don't do

• They don't rate a place as good or bad. They show where the data points to more or less concern.
• They don't describe a single address. Scores are ZIP-level context. Check the specific property before you buy.
• They don't predict the future. They reflect recorded data, which can change.

Why we don't publish the exact formula

The weights and calculations behind the scores are Consilium's own. What we do publish is everything that goes into them: every baseline comes from a named public source, every incident is one we've recorded, and the data behind each score sits right next to it in your report, so you can see what's driving the number.

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