Methodology, version 2026.09

Current version

Every number on this site comes from a public data source, with a link back to the original file. This page explains how a region's score is computed. It stays live at this URL even after a future version replaces it.

What is scored

Three weighted components make up a region's score: new business applications or registrations (weight 0.30), dwelling units authorized by building permit (weight 0.30), and payrolled or covered employment (weight 0.40). A region missing one of these still gets a score, computed from whatever components are available; the page for that region states its coverage plainly rather than filling in a missing figure with zero.

Percentile rank

Each component is standardized (converted to a z-score) against every other region in the same country and the same tier, after first converting business formation, permits, and employment to a rate per 100,000 residents, so a large region and a small region are compared on the same basis rather than by sheer size. The three standardized components are combined into one composite score using the weights above, then converted to a percentile rank from 0 to 100 among that country's regions. Percentile rank is never compared across countries: a rank of 80 in the United Kingdom and a rank of 80 in Australia describe two different countries' own distributions, not the same thing.

Momentum

Momentum is the standardized change in a region's composite score over 3 months and over 12 months. Because it is already standardized, momentum is the one number on this site that is comparable across countries: it describes how much a region moved relative to a typical region in its own country, on a shared scale.

Update cadence

Each source publishes on its own schedule, from monthly to annual. A region's score is recomputed monthly using the most recent value available for each component as of that month, whatever that component's own release schedule is. Every region page states how old its oldest component is.

What is not yet covered

Two known gaps: the United Kingdom currently has no building permits source at the launch tier (only application counts, an earlier and different pipeline stage), and Australia currently has no business formation source at the launch tier. Both are stated plainly on the affected region pages rather than filled in with an estimate.

Changelog

• 2026-09: Launch method. Percentile rank within country at launch tier. Components standardized per country and converted to a rate per 100,000 residents before standardizing. Momentum is standardized change vs 3 and 12 periods. Missing components reduce coverage, never filled with zero.