A Social Distancing Scorecard

A location data company has created a Social Distancing Scorecard to track the progress of Americans, down to the county level, in reducing travel in accordance with recommendations to reduce physical contact.

2 minute read

March 26, 2020, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Empty Subway

Orhan Cam / Shutterstock

Unacast, a mobility data company based in New York and Oslo, has created a Social Distancing Scoreboard to track the success of Americans in reducing travel in the days and weeks since the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the country.

A blog post by Thomas Walle, CEO and co-Founder, of Unacast, explains the Scoreboard's methodology. The company uses its Real World Graph® data engine to identify geospatial mobility data. After several iterations, the company decided to use "change in average distance traveled" as its metric for the Scorecard.

As for the final tally, the Scorecard assigns letter grades based on whether the change in average mobility has dropped more than 40 percent (an A Grade), between 30 and 40 percent (B), 20 to 30 percent (C), 10 to 20 percent (D), and less than a 10 percent decrease (an F grade).

The Scorecard includes a grade for the entire United States (B), as well as grades for every state and county. The five states leading the social distancing effort, as of this writing: the District of Columbia (considered a state here), Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. The states reducing average distance traveled the least, as of this writing, are Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Oregon.

For an additional comparison, the state currently considered the hot bed of the pandemic, New York, has reduced average distance traveled by 48 percent. The country's most populous states, California, has also reduced average distance traveled by 48 percent. Both of those metrics were last updated on March 24 as of this writing.

Unacast is promising that the Social Distancing Scorecard is only the first of multiple releases it has planned for a COVID-19 Toolkit.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020 in Unacast

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight