US Counties
counties
Every US county and county equivalent.
Median score
33
across 3016 sites
Middle half
28–33
spread around the median
Full range
13–74
lowest to highest
Gated
2636 of 3016
block AI crawlers outright
Middle of 14 cohorts. All cohorts 50 · best cohort 58.
Where this list came from
The source, and how we filtered it
| Source | US counties and county equivalents, Census Vintage 2025, US Census Bureau, with CISA and Wikidata (2025-vintage) |
|---|---|
| License | No restriction on the combined list. The roster is a work of the US federal government and carries no copyright, the CISA .gov registry is public domain, and Wikidata is CC0 1.0 Universal; the cohort goes out under the Census's CC BY-SA 4.0 like the rest. |
| How we filtered it | The roster is every row of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates (sub-est2025.csv) with SUMLEV 050, which is 3,144 counties and county equivalents. Each county's address was looked up in the CISA .gov registry first, then in Wikidata (P856, official website, joined on the FIPS code in P882) where the registry had nothing, then resolved by hand for the remainder; every hand-resolved row was confirmed by loading the site. 57 rows carry no address, each with the reason: 27 county equivalents with no general-purpose county government, 6 South Dakota counties that maintain no website, and 24 that are unresolved and want a manual pass. |
| Built | 2026-10-11 |
The filtering is ours and is disclosed as ours. The source published a list; the decision about which rows of it belong in a cohort was a judgment call, and it is written down so somebody can disagree with it.
Distribution
Where the 3016 sites land
| Grade | Share of the cohort | Sites | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adequate | 110 | 3.6% | |
| Not ready | 2507 | 83.1% | |
| Weak | 399 | 13.2% |
By dimension
What the cohort earns, dimension by dimension
The mean share of each dimension’s available points that this cohort earned. Low here means the whole sector is weak on it, not that one site dragged an average down. The per-site spread is in the dataset.
| Dimension | Mean share earned | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| #1 · Reach
These parameters determine the fundamental ease of access that AI has to your site information. |
50% | |
| #2 · Read
AI generally turns off JavaScript. Does your site information survive without it? |
25% | |
| #3 · Understand
Does a machine know who and what you are? |
20% | |
| #4 · Act
Sitemaps, redirects, 404s, licensing terms, and not wasting the crawl budget. |
67% |
How much of each site we read
The cap is 32 URLs and it is a ceiling, not a promise. A portal whose every link points at a different host yields one page; a university yields the full sample. The median here is 1, the range 1–32, published so that "we sampled 32 URLs per site" cannot become a claim the data does not support.
93 sites in this cohort served a certificate we could not verify. They were read anyway and scored normally, because reporting no response for a site every browser loads would describe our TLS stack rather than the site, and each one carries the finding in its row.
Where this cohort fails
12 tests almost nobody in this cohort passes
Universal — nobody passes these
| Test | What it asks | Failing | Of | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXT-11 | Have you marked the part of a page that answers a spoken question? | 3016 | 0 | |
| EXT-12 | Do you tell search engines the moment a page changes? | 3016 | 0 | |
| EXT-14 | Does your site offer its actions to AI browsers as tools? | 2169 | 0 | |
| EXT-16 | Do you publish a card or a skills list for the agents you run? | 3016 | 0 | |
| EXT-17 | Do you list your agents in your domain's DNS records? | 2655 | 0 | |
| EXT-18 | Do you tell AI shoppers how they can pay? | 7 | 0 | |
| EXT-2 | Do you list your APIs and agent tools where agents look for them? | 72 | 0 | |
| EXT-7 | If you run real question-and-answer pages, are they marked as such? | 22 | 0 | |
| RED-10 | Do you offer a plain-text (Markdown) copy of your pages? | 357 | 2 | |
| RED-12 | If a machine asks for Markdown, does your site give it? | 3016 | 2 | |
| UND-2 | Does your site use the page labels that search engines still read for what you publish? | 3016 | 3 | |
| UND-9 | If a page is behind a paywall, does it say so? | 1 | 2 |
Near-universal — 95% and above
| Test | What it asks | Failing | Of | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UND-1 | Does your site say clearly who you are? | 3016 | 2 | |
| UND-10 | Does your page code link to your official profiles elsewhere? | 3016 | 2 | |
| PST-2 | Have you posted a Content Signals statement about what AI may do with your content? | 3016 | 0 | |
| EXT-1 | Do you publish an llms.txt file for coding assistants? | 3016 | 0 | |
| RED-5 | Do your PDFs and images have their own rules for search and quoting? | 357 | 1 | |
| MSR-7 | Are you set up in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and do you read their AI reports? | 3016 | 0 | |
| UND-6 | Are your published and updated dates honest and visible? | 3016 | 6 | |
| EXT-13 | Can an assistant ask your site a question directly? | 3016 | 0 | |
| PST-4 | Have you reserved your text and data mining rights in a form machines can read? | 3016 | 0 | |
| RCH-3 | Does each page say which web address is the real one? | 3016 | 2 | |
| EXT-4 | Can an AI assistant connect to your site as a tool? | 3016 | 0 | |
| EXT-5 | Is your page code one connected description of your organization? | 3016 | 0 | |
| UND-5 | Does the author label in your page code point to that person? | 287 | 1 | |
| RED-13 | Is the page built from real page parts, like header, main and navigation? | 3016 | 1 |
Common — 90 to 95%
Coral bars mark tests worth 2 points or more, the failures that actually move a score.
Every site
Every 3,144, named, with a report for each
Whether or not it has been scanned. Rows with no website on record, sites that were unreachable and sites that turned us away stay in the table with the reason on them, and none of them enters an average: dropping them would shrink the population to the part that was easy to measure. A few points between two neighbors is noise. The box filters every row in the cohort, not only the page you are on; click a header to sort the rows on this page by name or by score.
Showing 1,901–2,000 of 3,144 · page 20 of 32
| Site | Score | Gated | Pages read | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bladen County, North Carolina bladencountync.govregistered as Bladen County Sheriff's Office in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Brunswick County, North Carolina readybrunswickcountync.govregistered as Brunswick County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Buncombe County, North Carolina buncombenc.govregistered as Buncombe County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Burke County, North Carolina burkenc.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 48 | No | 1 | |
| Cabarrus County, North Carolina cabarruscountync.govregistered as Cabarrus County Govt. in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Caldwell County, North Carolina caldwellcountync.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 48 | No | 1 | |
| Camden County, North Carolina camdencountync.govregistered as Camden County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Carteret County, North Carolina carteretcountync.govregistered as County of Carteret in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Caswell County, North Carolina caswellcountync.govregistered as Caswell County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Catawba County, North Carolina catawbacountync.govregistered as Catawba County North Carolina in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Chatham County, North Carolina chathamcountync.govregistered as Chatham County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Cherokee County, North Carolina cherokeecounty-nc.govregistered as Cherokee County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Chowan County, North Carolina chowancounty-nc.govregistered as Chowan County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Clay County, North Carolina claync.govregistered as Clay County NC in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Cleveland County, North Carolina clevelandcountync.govregistered as Cleveland County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Columbus County, North Carolina columbuscountync.govregistered as Columbus County, North Carolina in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Craven County, North Carolina cravencountync.govregistered as Craven County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Cumberland County, North Carolina mycumberlandncpay.govregistered as Cumberland County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Currituck County, North Carolina currituckcountync.govregistered as County of Currituck in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Dare County, North Carolina darenc.govregistered as Dare County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Davidson County, North Carolina davidsoncountync.govregistered as County of Davidson in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Davie County, North Carolina daviecountync.govregistered as County of Davie in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Duplin County, North Carolina duplinnc.govregistered as County of Duplin in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Durham County, North Carolina dconc.govregistered as Durham County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Edgecombe County, North Carolina edgecombecountync.govregistered as Edgecombe County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Forsyth County, North Carolina forsythcountync.govregistered as Forsyth County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Franklin County, North Carolina franklincountync.govregistered as County of Franklin in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Gaston County, North Carolina gastoncountync.govregistered as Gaston County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Gates County, North Carolina gatescountync.govregistered as Gates County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Graham County, North Carolina grahamcounty.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 59 | No | 24 | |
| Granville County, North Carolina granvillecounty.orgblockedweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry; not measured: HTTP 403 (Cloudflare) | — | No | — | |
| Greene County, North Carolina greenecountync.govregistered as County of Greene in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Guilford County, North Carolina guilfordcountync.govregistered as Guilford County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Halifax County, North Carolina halifaxnc.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 53 | No | 19 | |
| Harnett County, North Carolina harnettcountync.govregistered as Harnett County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Haywood County, North Carolina haywoodcountync.govregistered as Haywood County NC in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Henderson County, North Carolina hendersoncountync.govregistered as Henderson County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Hertford County, North Carolina hertfordcountync.govregistered as Hertford County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Hoke County, North Carolina hokecounty.netweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 45 | No | 22 | |
| Hyde County, North Carolina hydecountync.govregistered as Hyde County Local Govt. in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Iredell County, North Carolina iredellcountync.govregistered as Iredell County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Jackson County, North Carolina jacksonnc.orgblockedweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry; not measured: HTTP 429 (Cloudflare) | — | No | — | |
| Johnston County, North Carolina johnstonnc.govregistered as Johnston County Technology Services in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Jones County, North Carolina jonescountync.govregistered as Jones County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Lee County, North Carolina leecountync.govregistered as Lee County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Lenoir County, North Carolina lenoircountync.govregistered as Lenoir County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Lincoln County, North Carolina lincolncountync.govregistered as Lincoln County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| McDowell County, North Carolina mcdowellnc.govregistered as McDowell County Administration in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Macon County, North Carolina maconnc.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 47 | Gated | 32 | |
| Madison County, North Carolina madisoncountync.govregistered as Madison County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Martin County, North Carolina martincountync.govregistered as Martin County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Mecklenburg County, North Carolina mecknc.govregistered as Mecklenburg County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Mitchell County, North Carolina mitchellcountync.govregistered as Mitchell County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Montgomery County, North Carolina montgomerycountync.govregistered as Montgomery County, NC in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Moore County, North Carolina moorecountync.govregistered as County of Moore in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Nash County, North Carolina nashcountync.govregistered as Nash County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| New Hanover County, North Carolina nhcgov.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 48 | No | 1 | |
| Northampton County, North Carolina northamptonnc.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 48 | No | 1 | |
| Onslow County, North Carolina onslowcountync.govregistered as Onslow County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Orange County, North Carolina orangecountync.govregistered as Orange County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Pamlico County, North Carolina pamlicocountync.govregistered as County of Pamlico in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Pasquotank County, North Carolina co.pasquotank.nc.usweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 60 | No | 1 | |
| Pender County, North Carolina pendercountync.govregistered as Pender County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Perquimans County, North Carolina perquimanscountync.govregistered as Perquimans County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Person County, North Carolina personcountync.govregistered as Person County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Pitt County, North Carolina pittcountync.govregistered as County Of Pitt in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Polk County, North Carolina polknc.govregistered as Polk County Local Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Randolph County, North Carolina randolphcountync.govregistered as Randolph County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Richmond County, North Carolina richmondcountync.govregistered as Richmond County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Robeson County, North Carolina robesoncountync.govregistered as ROBESON COUNTY in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Rockingham County, North Carolina rockinghamcountync.govregistered as Rockingham County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Rowan County, North Carolina rowancountync.govregistered as County of Rowan in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Rutherford County, North Carolina rutherfordcountync.govregistered as Rutherford County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Sampson County, North Carolina sampsoncountync.govregistered as Sampson County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Scotland County, North Carolina scotlandcounty.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Stanly County, North Carolina stanlycountync.govregistered as County of Stanly in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Stokes County, North Carolina stokescountync.govregistered as Stokes County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Surry County, North Carolina readysurrync.govregistered as County of Surry in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Swain County, North Carolina swaincountync.govregistered as Swain County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Transylvania County, North Carolina transylvaniacounty.govregistered as Transylvania County in the .gov registry; this is the elections office's site, not the county's main site | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Tyrrell County, North Carolina tyrrellnc.govregistered as Tyrrell County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Union County, North Carolina unioncountync.govregistered as Union County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Vance County, North Carolina vancecounty.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 52 | Gated | 32 | |
| Wake County, North Carolina wakecountync.govregistered as Wake County Government in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Warren County, North Carolina warrencountync.govregistered as Warren County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Washington County, North Carolina washconc.orgweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 55 | Gated | 32 | |
| Watauga County, North Carolina wataugacounty.govregistered as Watauga County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Wayne County, North Carolina waynegov.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 39 | No | 14 | |
| Wilkes County, North Carolina wilkescounty.netweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 48 | No | 1 | |
| Wilson County, North Carolina wilsoncountync.govregistered as Wilson County Government in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Yadkin County, North Carolina yadkincounty.govregistered as Yadkin County in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Yancey County, North Carolina yanceycountync.govregistered as Yancey County Courthouse in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 | |
| Adams County, North Dakota adamscountynd.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 50 | Gated | 23 | |
| Barnes County, North Dakota barnescounty.usweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 72 | No | 32 | |
| Benson County, North Dakota bensoncountynd.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 59 | No | 32 | |
| Billings County, North Dakota billingscountynd.govregistered as Billings County, North Dakota in the .gov registry | 33 | Gated | 1 | |
| Bottineau County, North Dakota bottineau.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 50 | Gated | 32 | |
| Bowman County, North Dakota bowmannd.comblockedweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry; not measured: HTTP 403 | — | No | — | |
| Burke County, North Dakota burkecountynd.comweb address from Wikidata (P856), not the .gov registry | 50 | No | 32 | |
| Burleigh County, North Dakota burleigh.govregistered as Burleigh County in the .gov registry | 28 | Gated | 1 |
Scores are for the population, not for ranking two named sites against each other. A few points between neighbors is noise. See what these numbers can and cannot support. Data: sites.csv · checks.csv · summary.json