Indicators

Economy

Household Income – Household Income uses the county-level median household income, which helps us understand the financial resources and economic well-being of the typical household in a community.
Local Ownership – Local Ownership measures the locally owned businesses in a community by using company size as a proxy.
Cost of Flooding – Cost of Flooding measures the financial risk of flooding to a community.
Income Equality – Income Equality measures the economic gap between the richest and poorest in a community.
Trade – Trade measures the trade balance per capita which assesses the amount of economic leakage, or money leaving the local economy.
River Economy – River Economy measures the jobs and income generated by river-related businesses.

Wetlands – Wetlands evaluates the change in wetland area over time.
Tree Cover – Tree Cover evaluates the change in tree canopy cover over time.
Forests – Forests evaluates the change in forest cover over time.
Fish Populations – Fish Populations evaluates five metrics of the fish community structure based on different species types.
Bird Diversity – Bird Diversity calculates the Simpson’s Diversity Index for all bird species in the region.
Benthic Community – Benthic Community evaluates the health of benthic macroinvertebrate species living on the stream beds.
Protected Lands – Protected Lands measures the amount of land area protected in the region.

Fish Consumption – Fish Consumption assesses the type and severity of fish consumption advisories in the region.
Bacteria – Bacteria assesses the amount of E. coli in the water, a proxy for other bacteria that can cause human illness.
Heat Vulnerability – Heat Vulnerability is an index that assesses a community’s vulnerability to climate change driven heat waves.
Air Quality Index – Air Quality assesses air pollutants and includes particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3).
Environmental Justice – The Environmental Justice indicator is an index that integrates 36 environmental, social, and health factors to assess the impacts of environmental inequality on human health.

Flooding – Flooding evaluates the number of floods reported in a region.
Sewer Overflows – Sewer Overflows evaluates the number of overflow events from Sanitary Sewer and Combined Sewer Systems.
Impervious Surfaces – Impervious Surfaces measures the amount of surfaces that are impervious to water infiltration in the region.
Farmland – Farmland evaluates the change in farmland area over time.
Affordable Housing – Affordable Housing measures the amount people spend on housing costs compared to their income.

Walkability – Walkability assesses if people in urban areas can walk to a park in 10 minutes.
Parks – Parks assesses the median park size and percentage of park land in an urban area.
Beach Access – Beach Access assesses the time when beaches are closed during the beach season.
Watercraft Access – Watercraft Access measures the number of watercraft launch points along stretches of navigable river.
Fishing – Fishing measures the number of fishing licenses.

Nitrogen – Nitrogen measures the amount of total nitrogen in the water.
Phosphorus – Phosphorus measures the amount of total phosphorus in the water.
Dissolved Oxygen – Dissolved Oxygen measures the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water.
Water Temperature – Water Temperature measures the temperature of the water.
Turbidity – Turbidity measures the amount of light that passes through the water.

Overall Health Index – The Overall Health Index is the average of the six category scores: Economy, Ecosystem, Human Health, Infrastructure, Recreation, and Water.