How Our Neighborhood Ratings Work
A transparent framework for comparing Greater Cincinnati communities without pretending one score can describe every street, home or household.
The scale
Every component is stored on one canonical 0–5 scale. Neighborhood directory cards show that 5-point value. Individual profiles display the identical score out of 10 by multiplying it by two. Scores are rounded to one decimal for display; calculations use the unrounded canonical values.
The overall calculation
Safety · 30%
Trailing three-year violent- and property-crime rates and trends from local police or other official open-data sources, with the FBI Crime Data Explorer as a secondary source. We disclose when reporting-agency boundaries do not match neighborhood boundaries.
Family Fit · 25%
Parks and recreation access, libraries and community institutions, school information at the most accurate available district or attendance-boundary level, child-oriented amenities, and housing suitability. This is an editorial fit measure, not a universal definition of family life.
Affordability · 25%
Dated home-sale and rent information, price-to-income context and property-tax context, benchmarked consistently against Greater Cincinnati. Listing prices and sale prices are never treated as interchangeable.
Commute & Access · 10%
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey commute measures, supplemented by documented transit availability and practical road access. Drive-time intuition alone is not a scoring source.
Amenities & Daily Life · 10%
A consistently applied combination of restaurants and things-to-do coverage, supported by auditable local listings and access to everyday needs. Paid placement does not improve a neighborhood score.
Formula
Overall = Safety × 30% + Family Fit × 25% + Affordability × 25% + Commute & Access × 10% + Amenities & Daily Life × 10%.
Source hierarchy
We prefer official local open-data portals and government records, followed by federal datasets such as the Census Bureau and FBI, then clearly dated market datasets such as Redfin or Realtor.com. Editorial observation and Queen City Guide’s own listing coverage may provide context, but they cannot substitute for missing official safety, housing or commute evidence.
Geography, dates and updates
Each neighborhood profile identifies the geography represented, the measurement period, the date the rating record was updated and any important mismatch between a neighborhood, census place, municipality, township, school district or police reporting area. Core data should be reviewed at least annually; housing figures may be refreshed quarterly when a reliable current series is available.
Missing data and confidence
A verified overall score requires all five components. We do not silently reweight around missing information. A rating without a complete source record is labeled “Provisional editorial baseline.” A neighborhood missing a required component is labeled “Not yet scored.” “Source-verified” means the page documents the underlying sources, periods, geography and calculation; it does not mean conditions are guaranteed.
What the score cannot tell you
Neighborhood-wide comparisons cannot establish the safety, school assignment, taxes, insurance cost, commute or condition of a particular address. Conditions vary within neighborhoods and change over time. Confirm important decisions with current records and qualified local professionals.
Methodology version: 1.0 · Effective: September 13, 2026 · Corrections and source updates may be submitted through Queen City Guide’s contact page.