Download the data
What is in the index
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
rank | Rank by Basement Risk Index, 1 = highest modeled risk among the 116 communities. |
community | Community name (city, village, or township). |
bri_score | Basement Risk Index, 0 to 100. Relative structural basement-flood exposure, metro median about 37. |
pct_homes_pre_1960 | Share of homes built before 1960 (U.S. Census ACS), the largest driver of basement-water risk here. |
median_home_value_usd | Median owner-occupied home value (U.S. Census ACS), shown to demonstrate risk tracks age, not wealth. |
scoring_basis | How the score was produced. Suburbs are modeled from housing data; Detroit also blends in City 311 records. |
confidence | Data-confidence grade. A = local flood-incident records integrated (Detroit 311 today); C = modeled from housing-age measures, no local flood records integrated yet (all suburbs today). |
profile_url | Link to the full public community report. |
Full column definitions, method, and limitations ship with each download as a data dictionary, and the full method is published on the methodology page.
Preview: the 10 highest-risk communities
| # | Community | BRI | Pre-1960 | Median value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pleasant Ridge | 100 | 92% | $448,700 |
| 2 | Grosse Pointe Park | 96 | 87% | $473,100 |
| 3 | Hamtramck | 96 | 86% | $131,000 |
| 4 | Grosse Pointe | 94 | 83% | $436,800 |
| 5 | Detroit | 93 | 78% | $83,900 |
| 6 | Grosse Pointe Farms | 91 | 86% | $442,000 |
| 7 | Huntington Woods | 88 | 88% | $473,900 |
| 8 | River Rouge | 86 | 73% | $65,100 |
| 9 | Ferndale | 85 | 76% | $247,700 |
| 10 | Berkley | 83 | 78% | $316,700 |
See the full 116-community ranking, the interactive risk map, or the 2026 findings writeup.
Release history
The download links above always serve the current data. Each dated release below is also frozen at a permanent URL under /data/releases/ so a citation never breaks. Notes are generated by comparing each release with the one before it.
- Initial public release of the dated dataset series.
- Communities scored: 116.
- Datasets: 3, the Basement Risk Index, the Detroit basement-flood equity file by ZIP, and the ACS 2020-2024 refresh (what moved).
- Source data: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 five-year estimates, City of Detroit 311 water-in-basement records from 2023 to present, and U.S. Census TIGER/Line boundaries.
- License: CC BY 4.0.
- Archive DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20821239.
- Data version: acs2024-r2.
Sources and license
U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates (housing age, year built, home value, tenure); City of Detroit Improve Detroit / 311 water-in-basement service requests, 2023 to present; U.S. Census TIGER/Line boundaries. The index is an honest hybrid weighted mainly on housing age; Detroit additionally reflects more than 13,400 documented 311 reports as of June 2026. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Look up your own community
Find any metro Detroit neighborhood on the interactive Basement Risk Index map.
Open the map →For journalists and local sites
This data is free to use and cite. We are glad to provide a custom cut for any community you cover: [email protected].