METHODOLOGY

How the index is built

The index is designed to be reproducible, transparent and useful for screening—not to predict business success.

Data sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Monthly average retail electricity price for the commercial sector by state. The updater uses EIA's electricity retail-sales API.

Primary source

U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns

State counts of Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (NAICS 713940). This is a proxy for the density of facilities that may consider recovery amenities; it is not a count of sauna businesses.

Primary source

U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey

Population and median household income, using the latest configured ACS 5-year release.

Primary source

Opportunity Score

Each input is min-max normalized across the 50 states and D.C. Lower electricity prices score higher. The weighted score is:

35% electricity affordability + 30% fitness density + 20% median household income + 15% population depth

Population depth uses the logarithm of population so very large states do not overwhelm the other factors.

What the score does not include

Local rent, construction cost, commercial lease terms, sales taxes, permitting, competition, customer acquisition, hotel occupancy, gym membership trends, insurance, equipment reliability and actual local demand are not included. These can be decisive.

Operating-cost scenarios

Electricity estimates are arithmetic scenarios based on entered or standardized kW, energized hours, duty factor and the applicable commercial electricity rate. They are not utility bills and do not account for demand charges or tariff structures.

Update cadence

The GitHub Action runs weekly. EIA data can change monthly; ACS and CBP update on slower annual schedules. The workflow preserves the previous value when a source is temporarily unavailable.