This index is based on estimates of transportation costs for a family that meets the following description: a 3-person single-parent family with income at 50% of the median income for renters for the region (i.e. CBSA). The estimates come from the Location Affordability Index (LAI). The data correspond to those for household type 6 (hh_type6_) as noted in the LAI data dictionary. More specifically, among this household type, we model transportation costs as a percent of income for renters (t_rent). Neighborhoods are defined as census tracts. The LAI data do not contain transportation cost information for Puerto Rico. Interpretation Values are inverted and percentile ranked nationally, with values ranging from 0 to 100. The higher the transportation cost index, the lower the cost of transportation in that neighborhood. Transportation costs may be low for a range of reasons, including greater access to public transportation and the density of homes, services, and jobs in the neighborhood and surrounding community. Data Source: Location Affordability Index (LAI) data, 2008-2012. Data Current As Of: 6/15/2015. This layer is intended for researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production. This layer will provide a basemap for layers related to socio-political analysis, statistical enumeration and analysis, or to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. More advanced user applications may focus on demographics, urban and rural land use planning, socio-economic analysis and related areas (including defining boundaries, managing assets and facilities, integrating attribute databases with geographic features, spatial analysis, and presentation output.)
