FAQ: What are Peer Groups in Transparency and how are they defined?

Peer Groups can compare your organization or agency with other similar organizations. These comparisons can be shown in your Transparency Center. 

The following criteria are used to identify the ClearGov default peer group and peer average.

For Towns, Cities, Villages, and Other Municipalities:

1. Similar population
2. Similar median home value as determined by census data
3. Similar commercial assessment to differentiate between rural vs. urban municipalities
4. Distance 

ClearGov dynamically searches for the closest ten municipalities that meet population, median home values, and commercial assessment deviations. The figures from those ten are combined to create a peer benchmark average.

For School Districts:

1. A similar number of students
2. Similar average household Income
3. Distance

ClearGov dynamically searches for the closest ten school districts that meet student enrollment and household income deviations. The figures from these ten school districts are combined to create a peer benchmark average.