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TractData

About TractData

The clearest view of every neighborhood in America. Built on public data, designed for people making one of life's biggest decisions.

Why we built this

Choosing where to live is one of the most consequential decisions a family makes. Yet the tools available to help — real estate portals, school rating sites, neighborhood score apps — are mostly built to serve the real estate industry, not the people moving in. They reduce entire communities to a single number, hide the underlying data, and are riddled with conflicts of interest.

TractData takes a different approach. We believe people deserve access to the same data that urban planners, policymakers, and researchers use — presented clearly, in context, and without manipulation. That means housing cost trends, school performance broken down by grade and student group, crime patterns by category, demographic composition, and more — all from official public sources.

Our goal is simple: give every person the information they need to make confident decisions about where to live, without reducing that decision to a number someone else chose for them.

Our principles

No single score

Neighborhoods are complex. A single number cannot capture housing costs, school quality, crime patterns, and demographic context at once. We present all dimensions side by side so you can weigh what matters to your family.

Full data transparency

Housing costs, school test scores and salaries, crime rates by category, demographic breakdowns — data that other sites leave out or obscure, presented clearly and in context.

No hidden agenda

TractData is not funded by the real estate industry. There are no promoted listings, sponsored placements, or pay-to-play features. Just public data, openly presented.

Built for people, not platforms

Every design decision starts with one question: does this help someone make a more informed decision about where to live? If it doesn't, we don't build it.

What we cover

Housing

Median home values, rent costs, vacancy rates, and housing stock age — from Census ACS at the tract level.

Schools

Test scores by grade and subgroup, teacher credentials and salaries, enrollment, and demographics — for 100,000+ schools across all 50 states.

Crime

Violent and property crime rates by category from FBI UCR, covering hundreds of cities nationwide.

Demographics

Population, age distribution, race and ethnicity, income, educational attainment, and commute patterns — from Census ACS.

Our data sources

All data comes from official public sources. We do not collect or use proprietary data, user reviews, or real estate information.

U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS)

  • Housing costs (median home value, median rent)
  • Household income and poverty rates
  • Population and age distribution
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Educational attainment
  • Commute times and transportation modes
  • Vacancy rates

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

  • School Directory & Contact Information
  • Enrollment & Demographics
  • Free/Reduced-Price Meals Eligibility
  • Common Core of Data (CCD)

Education Data Collaborative (EDC) / Zelma

  • ELA & Math proficiency scores (all 51 states)
  • Test results by grade and student subgroup

California Department of Education (CDE)

  • CAASPP Test Results (ELA & Math by grade and subgroup)
  • Staff Demographics & Credentials
  • Suspension & Expulsion Rates
  • Chronic Absenteeism
  • Graduation & Dropout Rates
  • School Finance Data

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)

  • Violent crime rates (assault, robbery, homicide)
  • Property crime rates (burglary, theft, arson)
  • Annual incident counts by city

TIGER/Line Shapefiles (U.S. Census Bureau)

  • Census place boundaries
  • Census tract boundaries
  • County and state geometries

Coverage

TractData currently covers all 50 U.S. states — approximately 32,000 Census places, 84,000 Census tracts, and 100,000+ schools. Housing and demographic data is updated when new ACS estimates are released, typically annually.

Start exploring

TractData is an independent project. For questions, feedback, or data corrections, please reach out through our GitHub repository.