This score rates the overall livability of a selected neighborhood, city, county, or state on a scale from 0 to 100. It is based on the average score of seven livability categories—housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement, and opportunity—which also range from 0 to 100. We score communities by comparing them to one another, so the average community gets a score of 50, while above-average communities score higher and below-average communities score lower.
All scoring begins at the neighborhood level. Cities, counties, and states receive a score based on the average scores of neighborhoods within their boundaries. Most communities have a range of more- or less-livable neighborhoods, but for a community to get a high score, neighborhoods throughout it need to score well. This makes it even more challenging for a city, county, or state to get a high score: the more neighborhoods there are within a given boundary, the less likely it will be that all of them have high scores.
Creating a livable community is challenging, and so is getting a high livability score. To get a perfect score of 100, a neighborhood would have to be among the best in the country in each of the seven livability categories. Scoring highly across all categories is difficult. For example, a transit-rich neighborhood has its benefits, but it can also drive up housing prices. To help that neighborhood score highly in both categories, community leaders would have to commit to ensuring affordable housing near public transit is available.
Salem, MA
57
One of the most historic seaport cities located on the North Shore of Massachusetts, Salem is currently home to over 40,000 residents. Salem’s rich history as the birthplace of the National Guard and the center of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 make the city a popular destination, and it welcomes over one million tourists each year. Salem embraces this history, preserving historic sites and decorating its police cars with witch logos. At the same time, Salem is working to create more livable neighborhoods for new and current residents, and has been developing new homes and commercial areas along its waterfront.
Salem’s lively downtown scene includes over 60 restaurants and cafes and is easily accessible by foot along pedestrian-friendly streets. Salem rates above average on transportation, scoring a 66, because of its walkability and transit connections to Boston via both commuter rail and high-speed ferry. Salem’s high Neighborhood score (67) reflects the easy access that residents enjoy to jobs, grocery stores, neighborhood-serving businesses, and especially parks. In 2007, Salem received over $4 million in state funding to turn an unoccupied waterfront parcel into a park, and to develop a wharf and harbor walk by the water.
Salem offers its growing older adult population an abundance of age-friendly services, including home care, health services, fitness classes, social activities, and the new Salem Community Life Center, which is projected to be completed in 2017. In fact, there are so many services available that it is challenging to make residents aware of them all, and the Strategic Plan for an Age-Friendly that the City is now developing includes a communication plan. The plan will also include an assessment of transportation and housing needs, particularly for middle-income people who wish to downsize their home while remaining in their community as they age.
Published: January 2017
The 8 Domains of Livability
As a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, Salem’s leaders commit to a continual cycle of improvement in the eight domains the World Health Organization has identified as influencing the health and quality of life of older adults:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Transportation
- Housing
- Social participation
- Respect and social inclusion
- Civic participation and employment
- Communication and information
- Community support and health services
Learn more about the domains by visiting the “8 Domains of Livability” slideshow.
For more information on the Age-Friendly Network, go to aarp.org/agefriendly.