Ecological
- Nitrogen – measures the amount of nitrogen in watershed or Bay waters.
- Phosphorus – measures the amount of phosphorus in watershed or Bay waters.
- Turbidity – is the amount of particles in the water measured as NTUs.
- Water Quality Index – indicators include total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and turbidity. Turbidity is a measure of water clarity.
- Benthic Community – or the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity, measures the condition of the organisms living in or on the bottom areas of the Bay.
- Protected Lands – measures the amount of valuable lands that are protected in the watershed.
- Fish community – Fish community, an index developed by the EPA, examines river health in categories including native species and pollution tolerance.
Societal
- Stewardship – examines citizen stewardship in categories of behavior, volunteerism, and civic engagement.
- Social Index – uses data about social vulnerability from the U.S. Census and measures how a community can respond to hazardous events.
- Walkability – measures how many people can walk to a park in 10 minutes and includes metrics for the total population and for diverse groups.
- Heat Vulnerability Index – indicates climate-safe neighborhoods and includes metrics for tree canopy, impervious surface, land surface temperature, and households in poverty.
- Environmental Justice Index – a new index from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Economic
- Median income – is a traditional measure of economic vitality and uses data from the U.S. Census.
- Housing affordability – measures the percentage of households that spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs.
- Income inequality – uses the Gini Coefficient that measures the inequality in income distrubution.
- Jobs growth – measures the percentage of jobs gained or lost (net) per capita from the past four years.
Other
- Dissolved Oxygen – is critical to the survival of Chesapeake Bay’s aquatic life.
- Chlorophyll a – is used as a measure of phytoplankton (microalgae) biomass.
- Water Clarity – is a measure of how much light penetrates through the water column.
- Aquatic Grasses – or submerged aquatic vegetation, are one of the most important habitats in the Bay.