The Analysis Panel

Open the Analysis Panel

Add a radius marker by searching for an address, selecting a saved or recent location, or holding Ctrl while clicking the map.

Work with multiple markers

Each marker has its own analysis.

• With one marker, its results appear directly.
• With two or three markers, tabs appear at the top of the panel.
• Select a tab to view that marker's results.
• A newly added marker becomes the active tab automatically.

You can have up to three active markers at one time.

Use the marker controls

The controls below the marker name let you:

• choose 3 mi, 5 mi, or Drive Time;
• show or hide margin-of-error values with the MOE button;
• move the map back to the marker with Fly to pin;
• Save or Unsave the location; and
• Remove the marker from the map.

Changing the marker mode updates both the map boundary and the analysis. Drive Time may take longer because the app must calculate a travel area and load data for it.

Removing a marker does not remove a separately saved location. Use Unsave if you also want to remove it from Saved Locations.

Read Market Area Fast Facts

Explore Race & Ethnicity

Race & Ethnicity opens as a chart when data is available.

• Hover over a chart segment or legend item to highlight it.
• Use the table button to switch from the chart to exact values.
• Use the expand button to open a larger chart.
• Close the larger chart with its close button, by selecting the background, or by pressing Escape.

Review nearby specialists

Nearby Specialists shows competing specialist locations inside the marker's outer boundary. The title may be tailored to your profession, such as Nearby Dental Specialists.

The default view groups specialists by specialty or facility type. Select the view button to switch to Nearby Specialists by Distance, where locations are ordered nearest first. In the distance view:

Owned and partner locations are excluded from the competing-specialist totals. Other active specialist filters on the map can also change the specialists and counts shown in the panel. See the provider points guide for how designations and filters work.

If a specialist appears to be missing, select the information icon beside a specialist metric and choose Report it here.

Review nearby communities

Nearby Communities breaks the selected area into recognized communities and shows population, household income, and households with children. Communities are ordered by population; use Prev and Next when there are more than eight.

This section appears only when community information is available for the selected block groups.

Compare distance rings or drive times

The final section is named Data by Distance for circular markers and Data by Drive Time for travel-time markers. Each column represents a distance ring or drive-time interval. Use it to compare population, population under 18, competing specialists, competition ratio, households, and households with children.

The values are cumulative. For example, a 5-mile column includes the area and specialists from the smaller rings inside it. When the Specialists row has an arrow, select it to show or hide the specialty breakdown for each interval.

Understand the competition ratio

The competition ratio shows the number of residents per competing specialist. A larger number means fewer specialists relative to the selected population. You can base the ratio on either Total population or Population under 18, set under Settings → Panel & Display → Competition Basis.

Expand or collapse sections

Select a section heading to collapse or reopen it. This is useful when you want to compare only a few parts of the analysis. Some sections also include a chart/table button for changing the view and an expand button for opening a chart in a larger window.

These view choices are kept separately for each active marker during the current session.

Check metric definitions and sources

Select an information icon beside a metric to see available details, including what the metric means, the Census table or dataset, how values were combined, the margin of error, and a link to learn more about the source.

Most demographic estimates come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Specialist information comes from the CommunityDX specialist directory.

Customize the panel

Open Settings → Panel & Display in the Toolbar to change:

• Show MOE — show or hide margin-of-error values;
• Competition Basis — use total population or population under 18; and
• Panel Position — dock the panel on the right or left.

What MOE means

MOE stands for margin of error. It shows the uncertainty around a Census estimate. For example, 10,000 ±500 means the estimate is 10,000, with a margin of error of 500. You can also toggle MOE directly from the controls at the top of the active marker's analysis.

Settings that change the results

• Selection Mode changes which census block groups are included.
• Drive Time Intervals changes the columns used for Drive Time analysis.
• Specialist visibility filters change which competing specialists are counted.

Troubleshooting

The panel is empty

Add a radius marker first. The panel does not show analysis without an active marker.

The panel is still loading

Wait for the marker's census and specialist requests to finish. Drive Time generally takes longer than switching between 3 mi and 5 mi.

No data is available for the area

The selected boundary may not contain supported census block groups. Try a larger boundary or review Settings → Analysis → Selection Mode.

A section or chart is missing

Some sections appear only when their data is available. For example, Nearby Communities is hidden when no community information is associated with the selected area. Charts appear only when the required data exists; you can continue using the table values when a visual is unavailable.

Specialist totals are lower than expected

The panel excludes owned and partner locations from competition counts. Also review the active specialist filters, which can hide types from the map and analysis.

Drive Time results did not update

After changing Drive Time Intervals, use the refresh action beside that setting to recalculate active Drive Time markers.