How GoOffGrid Works

The methodology behind the 0-100 off-grid score.

When you enter an address or GPS coordinates, GoOffGrid reads more than two dozen government and scientific data sources for that exact location, grades each reading, and returns a 0-100 score in about a minute. Here's what gets checked and where the data comes from.

The Six Dimensions

Every property is scored across six weighted dimensions. The weights reflect how often each factor kills an off-grid plan in practice. Water problems end more land purchases than anything else.

The Scoring Method

Each reading earns part of its points on a sliding scale, and deal-breakers are listed on their own as warnings.

A reading does not simply pass or fail. Better readings earn more of their points, so a small difference in the land makes a small difference in the score instead of a cliff at one cutoff. Serious problems, such as a FEMA flood zone, cost more. When a source has no reading for a location, the gap is not held against the land, and each dimension shows a confidence rating (High, Moderate, or Low) so you can see where the data was thin.

Separately from the score, the engine raises risk flags for potential deal-breakers, marked Warning or Critical, so a single catastrophic issue can't hide inside an otherwise decent number.

What the Number Means

Every score comes with one plain verdict line:

• 95 and up: Strong Candidate
• 80 to 94: Good with Caveats
• 70 to 79: Significant Challenges
• 50 to 69: Major Concerns
• Under 50: Not Recommended

We set those lines by testing them against people, not against our own numbers. Two research panels judged 160 parcels without ever seeing our scores, and the lines sit where our scores best matched their verdicts.

Data Sources

Every score is built from public data, queried live for the exact coordinates you enter. Here are the sources behind each part of the score.

US and Canada Coverage

US properties get the deepest data coverage. Canadian properties are fully scored using Canada-specific sources (PVGIS solar, MODIS fire history, BC GWELLS wells, ISED internet, StatCan health facilities). Some Canadian data is thinner: a global soil map instead of a detailed soil survey, well depths only in British Columbia, and flood risk estimated from elevation, nearby water, and slope instead of mapped flood zones. A reading we could not get is not held against the land, and the confidence rating tells you which parts rest on less data.

What the Score Is and Isn't

The score is a screening tool that does not replace on-the-ground due diligence.

It tells you which properties deserve your due-diligence budget and which to walk away from. It does not replace a site visit, a test well, a survey, or a conversation with the county planning office. That's why the Property Report ends with a prioritized before-you-buy checklist: the specific things to verify on-site for that property, ordered by how likely they are to change your decision.

Off-Grid Score vs. Property Report

The free score shows the overall 0-100 number, its interpretation, and how many risk flags were found. The $23.70 Property Report unlocks the complete analysis: sub-scores for all six dimensions, every reading and what it cost the score, each risk flag explained with a recommended action, development cost estimates (well, septic, solar, road, land clearing), property-specific written analysis, the before-you-buy checklist, and a downloadable PDF. More questions? See the FAQ.

The Same Readings Feed the Homestead Plan

Screening answers whether to buy. Once the land is yours, the same six readings (rainfall, sun, soil, slope, hazards, frost) become the inputs to the Homestead Plan, a step-by-step build plan for that property: solar and battery sized for its leanest month, water catchment and tank size, growing area, septic screening, heat, buildings, and the build order with costs. It is $29.70 one time, or $14.70 if you bought the property's report.