What we scan
ScanGov scans the homepage of every city site on our list, 266 sites. Each scan runs the checks on standards.scangov.org for accessibility, botability, security, usability, and readability. A site counts as fully scanned when its homepage responded and returned page content; sites that did not are listed with their scan status and left out of every figure here. The cities rankings list every site; Pulse for all sites compares the groups.
212 of 266
City sites fully scanned. We couldn't fully scan 54
B 80
Average overall score of the fully scanned city sites
13%
Fully scanned city sites earning an A overall (27 sites)
11/5/2026
Newest scan. Sites were scanned between 9/30/2026 and this date
How sites are doing
Of 212 fully scanned sites, 13% (27) earn an A for overall score, 83% (177) a B or C, and 4% (8) a D or F. The average score is 80. The curve shows where scores cluster; the bar shows the share in each grade band.
How U.S. city overall scores are distributed
Smoothed distribution of the 212 fully scanned U.S. city sites, score 0 to 100. Height shows how many sites score near each value.
Distribution of 212 scores. The data table lists counts by score range.
- Average
View the data table
| Score range | Sites |
|---|---|
| 0 to 9 | 0 |
| 10 to 19 | 0 |
| 20 to 29 | 0 |
| 30 to 39 | 0 |
| 40 to 49 | 0 |
| 50 to 59 | 0 |
| 60 to 69 | 8 |
| 70 to 79 | 116 |
| 80 to 89 | 61 |
| 90 to 100 | 27 |
U.S. city sites by overall grade
Share of the 212 fully scanned U.S. city sites in each grade band
- A (90 to 100)
- B to C (70 to 89)
- D to F (below 70)
View the data table
| Group | A (90 to 100) | B to C (70 to 89) | D to F (below 70) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All U.S. city sites | 13% (27) | 83% (177) | 4% (8) |
By place
City sites by overall grade
One dot per city site, colored by its overall grade. Select a dot to open that site's report. The table lists every site.
- A (90 to 100)
- B to C (70 to 89)
- D to F (below 70)
- Not fully scanned
11 city sites have no map location yet and appear only in the table.
All 266 city sites, ranked.
Where sites fail
For each indicator, the five checks that fully scanned city sites fail most often. A site can fail more than one check. In each chart, a check links to the list of city sites failing it where we have one, or to its standard; the notes under the chart link every standard.
Accessibility
Meet WCAG standards so every type of user can use your website. The most common accessibility failure is Links have a discernible name: 49% (103 of 212 sites) fail it.
What each accessibility check means
- Links have a discernible name. Links have unique, descriptive text so users know where they go. Screen reader users cannot identify or interact with elements.
- Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order. Page headings follow a logical order without skipping levels. Keyboard users cannot efficiently navigate your site.
- Elements with an ARIA [role] that require children to contain a specific [role] have all required children. Interactive groups contain all the child elements they need to work correctly. Screen readers cannot navigate grouped elements like menus or lists.
- [aria-hidden="true"] elements do not contain focusable descendents. Interactive elements are not hidden from screen reader users. Keyboard users can focus elements that screen readers cannot announce.
- Background and foreground colors have a sufficient contrast ratio. Text and background colors meet minimum contrast ratios. Users with low vision cannot read your text.
Botability
Help AI and search engines discover, crawl, and index your website. The most common botability failure is GovernmentOrganization Schema.org type: 96% (203 of 212 sites) fail it.
What each botability check means
- GovernmentOrganization Schema.org type. Homepage is marked up as an official government organization. Systems cannot verify you are an official government site.
- Robots valid. The site's robots.txt file is written correctly so search engines can follow it. Search engines ignore crawling rules they cannot read.
- Link text. Links use descriptive text that tells users and search engines where they go. Users cannot tell where links go.
- Sitemap in robots.txt. The robots.txt file links to the sitemap. Search engines take longer to find your pages.
- Sitemap status. The sitemap file loads and returns a successful response. Search engines cannot find all your pages.
Security
Secure your site and protect users with proper security practices. The most common security failure is Errors in the console: 41% (86 of 212 sites) fail it.
What each security check means
- Errors in the console. The page loads without JavaScript or network errors. Site may have hidden bugs that break features.
- X-Content-Type-Options. The site tells browsers not to guess the type of files it serves. Browsers might run dangerous files by mistake.
- Sponsored top-level domain (sTLD). The site uses a government-issued domain (.gov, .edu, or .mil). People cannot tell if your site is real government.
- Security.txt. The site has a security.txt file so researchers know how to report issues. Security researchers cannot report problems to you.
- Paste preventing inputs. The page lets users paste content into form fields. Users cannot use password managers safely.
Usability
Optimize content structure so users quickly find what they need. The most common usability failure is Open Graph image alt: 98% (208 of 212 sites) fail it.
What each usability check means
- Open Graph image alt. The social media preview image has alt text for screen readers. Screen readers cannot describe shared images.
- Open Graph site name. The site has a name for social media and browser display. Site name missing in social media shares.
- Open Graph description. The page has a description for social media previews. Shared links have no description on social media.
- Open Graph type. The page declares its content type for social media cards. Social media shows wrong content type.
- Open Graph image. The page has a preview image for social media cards. Shared links have no image on social media.
Readability
Write content at a reading level most users can understand. The most common readability failure is Reading level: 24% (50 of 212 sites) fail it.
What each readability check means
- Reading level. Page text reads at or below a 7th grade level so most users can understand it. Users struggle to understand your content.
Where to go next
- Cities rankings: 212 fully scanned of 266 sites.
- Pulse for all sites: every group compared.
- City websites not on a .gov domain: 27 of 212 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- City websites with sitemap problems: 67 of 208 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- City websites with robots.txt problems: 71 of 200 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- City websites that need JavaScript to show their content: 10 of 212 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- City websites that are hard to read: 50 of 199 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- City websites missing Open Graph tags: 186 of 212 fully scanned city sites, with every site listed.
- Websites by issue: every check and every group in one table.
- Changelog: what changed in the latest scans.
- Scan status: why some sites could not be fully scanned.
About this data
ScanGov scans the homepage of every city site on our list. Scores come from the checks in the ScanGov standards. Sites were scanned between 9/30/2026 and 11/5/2026. Each site's report shows its own scan date. A site counts as fully scanned when its homepage loaded and sent us its page content. Averages, grade shares, failure rates, and ranks use fully scanned sites only. We could not fully scan 54 sites. They did not respond, blocked the scanner, or sent no page content. They appear in the table without grades, with their scan status, and are left out of every figure. Grades follow the ScanGov grade scale. Rank follows the ScanGov ranking method. The full dataset, with every county's raw results, is in the ScanGov data repository.