A government, public-data, or named external source provides the underlying county measurement.
Field-level transparency
County Data Sources And Refresh Cadence
See where every public dataset field comes from, how County Freedom Index transforms it, when it should be reviewed, and what the value cannot establish about a parcel.
Documented fields30
Field categories9
Source classes4
Refresh schedules8
Dataset version2026.08
Documentation
One Definition For Every Exported Column
This registry is checked against the CSV and JSON exports during release validation. A public field cannot be added or removed without updating its provenance record.
Source classes
How The Provenance Labels Differ
County Freedom Index calculates the value from published inputs using a documented transformation or formula.
The value reflects structured county-level review and remains a discovery signal rather than a legal determination.
The site generates the field from its route, release, or dataset-management system.
Field matrix
Source, Transformation, Cadence, And Limits
The field name matches the downloadable dataset exactly. Follow the documentation link for methodology, source notes, or verification standards.
| Field | Category | Class | Primary input | Transformation | Refresh cadence | Key limitation | Documentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Statestate | Identity | Public source | U.S. Census geographic identifiers | Normalized state name | Boundary or Census geography change | Geographic label only | Review |
State codestate_code | Identity | Public source | U.S. Census geographic identifiers | Two-letter postal abbreviation | Boundary or Census geography change | Geographic label only | Review |
County or equivalentcounty | Identity | Public source | U.S. Census county and county-equivalent names | Normalized display name | Boundary or Census geography change | County-equivalent naming differs by state | Review |
County FIPSfips | Identity | Public source | U.S. Census geographic identifiers | Five-character state and county FIPS code | Boundary or Census geography change | Identifies a county geography, not a parcel | Review |
Research regionregion | Identity | Editorial research | County Freedom Index browsing taxonomy | County assigned to a regional research cluster | When regional taxonomy changes | A browsing aid, not an official jurisdiction | Review |
County profile URLprofile_url | Identity | State and county route registry | Canonical County Freedom Index URL generated from the county slug | Per release | Link structure may change with redirects preserved | Review | |
Data qualitydata_quality | Confidence | Editorial research | County source-review status | Mapped to verified, partially sourced, or draft | Per accepted research update | Describes county-level evidence depth, not parcel approval | Review |
Research confidenceresearch_confidence | Confidence | Editorial research | County source trail and review notes | Published confidence label from the research record | Per accepted research update | Confidence can vary across fields within one profile | Review |
Citation countcitation_count | Confidence | Derived | Accepted county citation URL list | Count of citation URLs attached to the county research record | Per accepted research update | A larger count does not automatically mean stronger evidence | Review |
Freedom Scorefreedom_score_0_to_100 | Composite indexes | Derived | Published housing, affordability, tax, solar, and broadband inputs | Weighted first-party formula documented in the methodology | When an input or scoring method changes | A comparative discovery score, not a legal conclusion | Review |
Housing Freedom Indexhousing_freedom_index_0_to_100 | Composite indexes | Derived | Alternative-housing discovery scores | Normalized first-party housing index | When an input or scoring method changes | County-level signal that still requires parcel and code review | Review |
Off-Grid Freedom Indexoff_grid_freedom_index_0_to_100 | Composite indexes | Derived | Off-grid, solar, rural, climate, and infrastructure signals | Normalized first-party off-grid index | When an input or scoring method changes | Does not confirm water, septic, access, or utility feasibility | Review |
Homestead Freedom Indexhomestead_freedom_index_0_to_100 | Composite indexes | Derived | Rural-use, climate, affordability, and housing signals | Normalized first-party homestead index | When an input or scoring method changes | Does not confirm agricultural, livestock, or dwelling rights | Review |
Connectivity Indexconnectivity_index_0_to_100 | Composite indexes | Derived | County broadband and infrastructure signals | Normalized first-party connectivity index | When an input or scoring method changes | Does not guarantee service at an address | Review |
Tiny home scoretiny_home_score_1_to_5 | Housing signals | Editorial research | County planning, zoning, building, and housing research | County-level discovery score on a 1-5 scale | Quarterly or source change | Does not confirm a tiny home is permitted on a parcel | Review |
RV living scorerv_living_score_1_to_5 | Housing signals | Editorial research | County RV, camping, occupancy, and permit research | County-level discovery score on a 1-5 scale | Quarterly or source change | Duration and occupancy rules can be parcel-specific | Review |
Off-grid scoreoff_grid_score_1_to_5 | Housing signals | Editorial research | County rule and rural-infrastructure research | County-level discovery score on a 1-5 scale | Quarterly or source change | Does not confirm well, septic, power, road, or dwelling feasibility | Review |
Container home scorecontainer_home_score_1_to_5 | Housing signals | Editorial research | County building-code and alternative-housing research | County-level discovery score on a 1-5 scale | Quarterly or source change | Engineering and code requirements remain project-specific | Review |
ADU scoreadu_score_1_to_5 | Housing signals | Editorial research | County and state accessory-dwelling research | County-level discovery score on a 1-5 scale | Quarterly or source change | ADU rules often depend on zoning, utilities, and an existing primary dwelling | Review |
Solar potentialsolar_potential_1_to_10 | Infrastructure and access | Public source | NASA POWER county-centroid climatology | Irradiance context normalized to a 1-10 planning score | Annual or source change | Not a roof, shading, battery, or system-design study | Review |
Broadband availabilitybroadband_availability_1_to_10 | Infrastructure and access | Public source | ACS broadband subscription data via Census Reporter | County household subscription proxy normalized to 1-10 | Annual | Not address-level provider or speed availability | Review |
Public-land accesspublic_land_access_score_1_to_5 | Infrastructure and access | Derived | Federal, state, and local public-land GIS context | County access and recreation context normalized to 1-5 | Annual or source change | Not a parcel-boundary, legal-access, or trailhead determination | Review |
Populationpopulation | Demographics | Public source | U.S. Census county population estimates | Published county estimate | Annual | County total, not a parcel or service-area population | Review |
Population densitypopulation_density_per_sq_mile | Demographics | Derived | Census population and county land area | Population divided by county land area | Annual | County averages can hide large internal differences | Review |
Growing seasongrowing_season_days | Climate | Public source | NOAA ACIS and regional climate-center context | County-level growing-season estimate | Annual or source change | Elevation and microclimates can vary substantially | Review |
Annual precipitationannual_precipitation_inches | Climate | Public source | NOAA ACIS and regional climate-center context | County-level annual precipitation estimate | Annual or source change | Not a parcel water-supply estimate | Review |
Average snowfallaverage_snowfall_inches | Climate | Public source | NOAA ACIS station-based context | County-level snowfall estimate | Annual or source change | Station coverage and elevation can materially affect local snowfall | Review |
Average temperatureaverage_temperature_f | Climate | Public source | NOAA ACIS and regional climate-center context | County-level annual temperature estimate | Annual or source change | County average can mask seasonal and elevation extremes | Review |
Property tax rateproperty_tax_rate_percent | Taxes | Public source | Property Tax Explorer county effective-rate context | Published county-level effective-rate signal | Annual | Not a parcel tax bill or assessment forecast | Review |
Dataset last revieweddataset_last_reviewed | Release metadata | County Freedom Index release process | Shared public-dataset review date | Per release | Does not mean every underlying source was updated on that date | Review |
Maintenance principles
Refresh Dates Are Review Prompts
Cadence Sets The Queue
Annual, quarterly, source-change, and per-release schedules define when a field should return to the research queue.
Evidence Changes Public Values
A review date alone does not justify a score change. Accepted evidence and documented transformations do.
Parcel Questions Stay Separate
County statistics help narrow research. Zoning, title, access, water, septic, hazards, and permits remain parcel-level work.
Version and reuse
Keep The Field Dictionary With The Dataset
Cite this matrix with version county-summary-2026-08-04. The provenance record explains County Freedom Index transformations and limitations; underlying sources retain their own terms, definitions, and attribution requirements.
Registry last reviewed: 2026-08-04.