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Location Analysis: Compare Business Locations Side by Side

Compare locations side by side: population, income, rent, traffic and 30 more numbers for any two US addresses over the same area, with an AI verdict. Business location analysis, free to start.

Head to head

Pick two addresses to compare

The six numbers people check first, side by side.

Population

Median household income

Median gross rent

Median age

Bachelor's degree or higher

Life expectancy

AI verdict

Reading the numbers for each area

The AI compares every category side by side. It takes a few seconds.

Compare Locations Side by Side

Pick two addresses above to fill the table.

Indicator
People
Population
Households
People per square mile
Average household size
Median age
Population growth per year Average yearly change over the last five years.

28 of these numbers come with a subscription

Every indicator for every location, up to 6 locations at once, unlimited comparisons and CSV export.

Income and spending
Median household income
Household income growth per year Average yearly change in median household income over the last five years.
Unemployment rate
Income inequality index The inequality index, from 0 to 1: 0 means every household earns the same, 1 means one household earns everything. Higher is more unequal.
Education and work
Bachelor's degree or higher Share of adults 25 and over.
Average commute One way, for workers who do not work from home.
Work from home
Traffic Daily traffic is annual average daily traffic (AADT) on an average mile of road, weighted by how much of each road type runs through the area; driveways and parking aisles left out. Source: Ticon.
Vehicles available Cars, vans and trucks kept by the households here.
Vehicles per household
Traffic intensity, VMT Vehicle miles traveled: the miles all vehicles drive on the roads here in a day. Grows with the size of the area.
Daily traffic, all roads Vehicles a day on an average mile of road here.
Daily traffic, highways Motorways and trunk roads with their ramps. n/a where none cross the area.
Daily traffic, other streets Every public road off the highways.
Housing
Median home value
Home value growth per year Average yearly change in median home value over the last five years.
Median gross rent Monthly rent plus utilities.
Homeownership rate
Home price to income Median home value divided by median household income. Higher is less affordable.
Median year built
Health and environment
Life expectancy
Chronic illness index Map AI index: the average share of adults with diabetes, cancer or heart disease. Lower is healthier.
Unhealthy habits index Map AI index blending the shares of adults who smoke, drink heavily, are obese, are physically inactive or rate their health fair or poor. Lower is healthier.
PCP availability People per primary care physician. Lower means easier access to a doctor. Rings only: county and state figures are measured differently.
Air pollution index Map AI index combining the average air pollution level with local traffic intensity. For comparing areas; lower is cleaner air.
Map AI indexes Graded against the US average, from A (well above) to F (well below).
Health index Life expectancy, health conditions and behaviors, clinical care and the physical environment.
Income index Income, employment, homeownership, cost of living and population growth.
Education index Educational attainment and the quality of local schools, universities and child care.
Places nearby Counted from OpenStreetMap, which volunteers map and keep up to date, so treat these as a baseline for comparing rings rather than an exact count of every business. There is no county or state figure.
Restaurants, cafes and bars
Grocery stores
Convenience stores
Pharmacies
Gas stations
Banks and ATMs
Clinics, doctors and dentists
Childcare and playgrounds

Census figures are American Community Survey five-year estimates with Map AI models, places come from OpenStreetMap. Drive times: Mapbox, at typical Wednesday midday traffic. All data sources

Who lives in each area

Age and sex

Share of people in each 1-mile radius, by age

Race

Share of people, by race as reported to the census

Education

Adults 25 and over, by the highest level finished

Household income

Share of households, by yearly income

Personal income

Share of people with an income, by yearly income

Since 2016

Population and median household income, yearly estimates

View a Comparative Location Analysis Example

The comparison at the top of this page is a live example: South Beach against Brickell in Miami, within a 1-mile radius, every number unlocked. Below are pages from the comparative location analysis report, the written study our analysts prepare for two sites.

Business location analysis comparing two locations in Map AI
Cover: two candidate sites
First location with its 5-mile radius on a map
Each location and its radius
Location analysis report comparing the level of service at two locations: people per fuel station, convenience store and car wash
Level of service at both sites
View Sample Report

What Is Included in Your Location Analysis?

Every location gets the same indicators over the same area, side by side, with an AI verdict that reads them for you.

  • Population

    Population, households, people per square mile, median age, yearly growth and a breakdown by race.

  • Income

    Median household income and its yearly growth, the unemployment rate, an income inequality index, and how households and people spread across income bands.

  • Housing

    Median home value, median gross rent, homeownership rate, home price to income and the median year homes were built.

  • Education

    Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, every education level for adults 25 and over, the average commute and how many people work from home.

  • Traffic

    Vehicles available and per household, traffic intensity, and average daily traffic on the highways and other streets inside each area.

  • Health

    Life expectancy, chronic illness and unhealthy habits indexes, people per primary care physician and air pollution.

  • Nearby Places

    Counts of restaurants, groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies, fuel, banks, healthcare and childcare, from OpenStreetMap: the competition and the neighbors.

How to Compare Business Locations

  1. Type the first address, city or ZIP code into Location A and the second into Location B.
  2. Pick the area: a radius of 1, 3, 5 or 10 miles, or a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive. The same one is drawn around every location.
  3. The comparison runs as soon as both are picked: the head-to-head tiles first, then the AI verdict, the full table and the charts.
  4. Change the area to re-run it on the same addresses at no cost. Subscribers can add up to 6 locations.
  5. Share the page link to share the comparison, or export every number as a CSV file with a subscription.

How to Interpret Your Location Analysis

Start with the head-to-head tiles: each one says in a sentence which location has more of something, and by how much.

The difference column measures every other location against the first, so put your current or favorite site in Location A.

The AI verdict scores each location from 0 to 1 per category, relative to the others. A lead means better than the other candidates, not good in absolute terms.

Small areas in rural places hold few people, so their figures carry more survey error. Treat a gap of a few percent there as noise.

What Is Location Analysis?

Location analysis is the study of a place by the numbers: who lives there, what they earn, how they live and how they get around, to judge how well it fits a home, a store or an investment.

Comparing locations side by side is its most common form: two or more candidates, measured the same way, so the choice rests on numbers rather than impressions.

Business Location Analysis

For a business, location analysis asks whether enough of the right customers live within reach, what they can spend and who already serves them: population and households for demand, income for spending power, age for fit, traffic for passers-by, and places nearby for the competition.

To see one site’s primary, secondary and tertiary areas, run a trade area analysis.

Comparative Location Analysis: How It Works

A ZIP code or a city is a different size at every address, so their numbers do not line up. Here every address becomes the center of the same shape, a straight-line circle or a drive along real roads at typical weekday traffic, so every column answers the same question, asked the same way.

Census figures are published for block groups and tracts, not for circles or drive times, so each area is computed from the census areas it overlaps, with the same method for every location.

A tight area describes the immediate neighborhood, the few blocks a walk-in business draws from or a buyer walks every day. A wider one covers more people but blends neighborhoods together, so differences average out.

What Factors Should You Compare Between Locations?

  • Demand

    Population, households, density and growth.

  • Spending power

    Household income, its growth and home values.

  • Customer fit

    Age, education and household size, against who you sell to.

  • Access

    Traffic on the roads, vehicles per household and the commute.

  • Competition

    The restaurants, stores and services already nearby.

  • Stability

    Unemployment, income inequality and health.

Business Location Analysis for Site Selection

Shortlist on demand and spending power, then let access and competition decide between the sites left. Measure over the area your customers travel: a mile or five minutes for a coffee shop, three miles or ten minutes for a grocery store, more for a destination business.

Need a written study of two sites for a partner or a lender? The comparative location analysis report is prepared by our analysts.

Location Analysis by Radius vs. Drive Time

A radius is a straight-line circle: quick, standard, and fine where streets run in a grid. A drive time follows real roads at typical weekday traffic, so a river, a highway or a gated community changes its shape. Use it when people arrive by car: shopping, clinics, commuting.

For three rings around one address instead of one area around several, see demographics by radius and demographics by drive time.

Who Uses Business Location Analysis?

  • Business owners and chains

    Two candidate sites for a store, restaurant or clinic, compared before the lease.

  • Franchise developers

    Candidate sites ranked with one method you can repeat.

  • Commercial real estate brokers

    "Which site is right for me?" answered with a table you can send.

  • Lenders and investors

    An independent check of the market numbers in a loan or investment package.

  • Homebuyers

    Two neighborhoods before an offer: incomes, rents, ages and health.

  • Researchers

    A consistent side-by-side for any US places, for a class or a study.

Where Does Location Analysis Data Come From?

Population, income, housing and households come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, with Map AI models carrying them forward. Health, air quality and life expectancy come from the CDC, places nearby from OpenStreetMap, road traffic counts from Ticon and TrafficZoom, and address search and drive-time areas from Mapbox.

Every source is listed on the data sources page, and our guide to comparing location demographics walks through a comparison step by step.

Location analysis: questions

Studying a place by the numbers - who lives there, what they earn, how they live and how they get around - to judge how well it fits a home, a store or an investment. Comparing two or more locations measured the same way is its most common form.
Location analysis for choosing a business site: whether enough of the right customers live within reach, what they can spend, how easily they get there and who already serves them.
Enter two addresses, cities or ZIP codes and choose a radius or a drive time. We draw that same area around every address, count who lives inside it - population, income, rent, education, health, traffic and places nearby - and put the results side by side, with how far the second location sits above or below the first.
Demand (population, households, growth), spending power (income and home values), customer fit (age, education, household size), access (traffic and commute) and competition (the places already nearby).
Subscribers can export every number as a CSV file, and the page address always holds the addresses and the area on screen, so copying it shares the comparison. For a written PDF study of two sites, order the comparative location analysis report; our analysts reply within one business day.
Both: a radius of 1, 3, 5 or 10 miles, or a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive. The same one is applied to every address, which is what makes the columns comparable. Drive time follows real roads at typical weekday traffic, while a radius is a straight-line circle. Changing it re-runs the comparison on the same addresses at no extra cost.
Yes, and it needs no account. Your first 5 addresses are free, then one new address a day; addresses you already checked stay free. Population, density, income, age and several more indicators are open to everyone, a free account adds more and the AI verdict, and any subscription unlocks every number, every chart and unlimited comparisons.
2 without a subscription, and up to 6 with one. The first location is the baseline every other column is measured against.
Yes. Anything the address search resolves works - a street address, a neighborhood, a city, a ZIP code or a pair of coordinates. Whatever you pick becomes the center of the area, so a city name measures the area around that city's center point rather than the whole city.
An AI read of the comparison, written from the same numbers: an overall summary, then income and jobs, housing, education, health, safety and environment, each scored relative to the other locations with a short explanation. It is free with an account; creating one fetches it for the comparison on screen.

Settle it with every number

A subscription opens the whole table and every chart, up to 6 locations at once, unlimited comparisons and CSV export.