How the Digital Business Index is calculated.
The DBA index uses public Census estimates and a disclosed percentile-weighted scoring model. It is designed as a comparative research tool, not a prediction of individual business outcomes.
Comparison universe
The updater retrieves all Census metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, sorts them by ACS population and retains the 100 largest statistical areas for the published comparison.
Inputs and weights
- 25% — Work-from-home share: ACS profile variable DP03_0024PE.
- 20% — Self-employment share: ACS profile variable DP03_0049PE, self-employed workers in their own not-incorporated business.
- 20% — Broadband adoption: ACS profile variable DP02_0154PE, households with a broadband Internet subscription.
- 20% — Bachelor's degree or higher: ACS profile variable DP02_0068PE.
- 10% — Median household income: ACS profile variable DP03_0062E.
- 5% — Founder affordability proxy: median household income divided by annualized median gross rent (B25064_001E).
Scoring
Each input is converted to a percentile position within the 100-area comparison set. Higher values score better for all six components, including the affordability ratio where a higher income-to-rent relationship indicates more purchasing power relative to rent. The weighted component scores produce a composite from 0 to 100.
What is measured vs. calculated
Measured/estimated by Census: population, work-from-home share, self-employment share, broadband subscriptions, educational attainment, median household income and median gross rent.
Calculated by DBA: income-to-rent affordability ratio, percentile component scores, composite DBA score and ranking.
Limitations
The index does not directly measure venture funding, tax burden, regulatory quality, coworking availability, local founder culture, digital advertising costs or the probability a specific company will succeed. Self-employment is broader than digital entrepreneurship, and broadband subscription is a household-access proxy rather than a direct measurement of connection quality.
Data vintage and refresh
The repository defaults to the latest implemented ACS 5-year vintage in the updater. The scheduled workflow checks weekly; Census values themselves generally change only when a new annual vintage becomes available.
Citation
Publishers and researchers may cite the index with attribution to the Digital Business Association and a link to the relevant ranking or metro page. The downloadable CSV/JSON is provided for research and reference use.