Weave’s Social Trust Index and Map show the strength of certain neighborhood traits that are correlated with social trust. Trusting behaviors, intentions, and spaces are judged separately, but they influence and complement each other. You can think of them as the ecosystem that supports building relationships and trust in a community.

We had two requirements for our data. It had to be very local, collected for census block groups, which are neighborhoods that include from 600-3,000 people. And it had to be as up-to-date as possible. We chose sources that update the data annually. Information in this map is from 2022. 

These two requirements were important to be sure we had data that was timely and specific to neighborhoods since it wasn’t an average for a large area. These requirements limited the data available to us, since not many groups collect information at the neighborhood level across the US every year. 

Weave assembled a group of advisors deeply involved in social trust research. You can see their names in the Trust Map credits. We and our advisors chose data that research has shown to be correlated to social trust. We hired the firm Datastory to find and organize the data. It refined the data choices through statistical tests that showed how the variables interacted with each other.

The Index and Map data came from Esri, Spatial.ai, SafeGraph, and OpenStreetMaps. These groups acquire data from the U.S. Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, MRI-Simmons, social media (e.g., X, Instagram, Facebook), and ground surveys, among others. Datastory used each criterion below to score each neighborhood as a percentile compared to the rest of the country, which we converted to a 0-100 scale. This means that if a particular neighborhood was in the 80th percentile compared to the rest of the country for book club attendance, their score on that criterion would be 80. These scores are then rolled up by subcategory and category. Finally, Datastory created an interactive map to display the results.

Trusting Behaviors

Trusting Behaviors indicate how actively engaged neighbors are in their community. We assess that in three ways:

• Involvement in community groups and activities in the last year
  • How many people are members of: church boards, fraternal orders, religious clubs, veteran’s clubs, book clubs, environmental groups / causes, or serve on committees for local organizations.
• Support for community nonprofits through funds and volunteering in the last year
  • How many people volunteered for charitable organizations.
  • How many people contributed to: arts / cultural organizations, educational organizations, health organizations, religious organizations, or social services organizations.
• Participation in local elections and community institutions in the last year
  • How many people say they: always vote in local elections, attended high school sporting events, attended religious services regularly, attended a political rally / speech / organized protest, or attented a public meeting on town / school affairs.

Trusting Intentions

Trusting Intentions indicate whether people seem interested in and care about the community. We assess that in three ways.

• Feelings that people are trusted or trustworthy
  • How many people say others trust their advice on: grocery shopping, healthcare, healthy lifestyles, restaurants
  • How many people say they will pay more for products from a trusted company, or that they expect the brands they buy will support social causes that they support
• Interest in following local events, organizations, and issues (this category analyzes the social media habits of people who live in a neighborhood)
  • How many people find local information very important
  • How many people follow: charitable groups, local groups, any politicians, religious groups, or school groups.
• Support for initiatives that promote a thriving community (this category analyzes the social posts originating from a neighborhood to determine the local interest in these lifestyle categories)
  • Humanitarian: Expresses a desire to give back and do good for the community, often through charity.
  • Civic Attentiveness: Expresses a desire to make their neighborhood a better, more beautiful place to live.  They are attentive to the needs and affairs of the local community.
  • Activist: Seeks to advocate for a more just world. Common activities include protests, rallies, and spreading awareness to the public about social justice issues.

Trusting Spaces

Trusting Spaces indicate whether people have places to meet and connect with neighbors. We assess that in two ways.

• Existence of “third spaces” known to foster conversation and exchange in or within ¼ mile of a neighborhood
  • Religious organizations
  • Barber shops
  • Beauty salons
  • Nail salons
  • Bowling centers
  • Libraries and archives
  • Snack and non-alcohol beverage bars (coffee, etc.)
  • Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)
  • Fitness & Rec Centers
• Existence of green or public spaces in or within ¼ mile of a neighborhood
  • Zoos and botanical gardens
  • Nature parks and similar institutions
  • Parks
  • Nature reserves
  • Recreation spaces

If you have further questions, contact Weave at trustmap@aspeninstitute.org.