Welcome to Homesense! The website for helping recent and upcoming college graduates find the perfect
place to live.
Process Book
Demo Video
Map
Our map shows a collection of some of the most popular metro-areas to choose from across the country.
Go
ahead and click on a region on the map for more information. There you can see our ratings for each
category based on a combination of various datapoints. (the subtitles below each grade represent
only an
example statistic, not everything that was factored into our scores)
Filter
You can start by selecting from the list of filters in the modal on the left and view the map update
their overlay colors to reflect each regions scores in that category. You can even combine filters
to
get more in-depth results
Search
Next in search you can specify exactly what you are looking for in your next home city and get a list
of the best results custom matched for you! Start by entering your desired values for the category
indices (higher always means better so a high crime index would mean fewer incidents of crime) as
well as your desired median rent, mean income and average age and see a list of cities perfect for
you!
Crime
Crime Data was sourced from the FBI Uniform Crime Report 2019, specifically covering the categories
"Violent crime," "Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter," "Rape," "Robbery," "Aggravated assault,"
"Property crime," "Burglary," "Larceny-theft," and "Motor vehicle theft." This data is broken down
by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). Unlike the census data not every MSA has crime data so we
had to remove some cities. Apparently, this is because some police departments/cities/states have
different rules/laws for reporting crimes, and did not report to the FBI.
The Crime Index was a sum of all the crimes reported by the Uninform Crime Report.
Education
Data about the population's Highest Degree Attained is obtained from the American Community Survey
2022. It is broken down by MSA.
The Education Index is a ranking of percentage of high school graduates in the MSA.
Worklife Balance
Commute time, type and employment and unemployment data is obtained from the American Community
Survey 2022 and is broken down by MSA.
The Worklife Index is a combination of commute times, incomes, unemployment and employment rates and
percent of people who walk to work
Cost of Living
Median and Mean Gross Rent by Bedroom data is collected from the American Community Survey 2022, also
broken down by MSA. This dataset includes information about monthly housing costs, monthly housing
costs as a percentage of income, and real estate taxes.
Value of Houses with Mortgages data is from the American Community Survey 2022 and is also broken
down by MSA. This dataset includes information on monthly housing costs, monthly housing costs as a
percentage of income, and real estate taxes.
The Cost of Living Index is a combination of Median Rent, Median Rent for 1 Bedroom, Mean Income,
and Mean House Value. Where higher rents and house values are disfavored while higher incomes are
favored. This works to ensure that all housing costs are relative to incomes. As well the 1 Bedroom
rent is speficially added to favor what is a likely first house after college.
Income
Mean income data is obtained from the American Community Survey 2022 and is broken down by MSA.
The Income Index is a ranking purely of mean income.
Age
Number of people by age is obtained from the American Community Survey 2022 and is broken down by
MSA.
The Age Index is a combination of rankings for similar ages (18-24), people 24+ and the average age
of the MSA. It disfavors higher 24+ and higher average age and favors 18-24.