How the ORA Score Is Calculated
ORA weights recent reviews more heavily, accounts for review volume and content, and evaluates complaint and compliment rates across 22 operational categories.
How the ORA Score Is Calculated
Formal Definition: The ORA Score
The ORA Score is a 0–100, monthly-updated, unbiased resident experience metric for an apartment community. It summarizes real renter reviews into a single number and resident experience signals so renters can compare apartment communities more confidently.
The High-Level Methodology
ORA is designed to be trustworthy and renter-friendly. It provides transparency without turning the process into technical scoring talk. At a high level, ORA:
Weights recent reviews more heavily
Accounts for review volume, lifetime star ratings, and review content
Evaluates the rate of complaints and compliments across 22 operational categories renters mention most
Considers relative performance by review site, including trustability and bias
Contextualizes performance based on apartment community details
Why ORA Uses Categories
Renters experience apartment living in moments: a maintenance request, a billing question, a noise concern, a communication exchange, a shared space that feels cared for — or ignored.
Using categories helps reveal consistency across the resident experience topics that shape day-to-day quality of life. A simple review average can miss the why. Two apartment communities can have similar star ratings but very different lived experience patterns.
Reviews are the raw input. ORA® is the standardized monthly interpretation.
Why the ORA Score Updates Monthly
Resident experience changes over time. Monthly updates help ensure the ORA Score reflects current patterns rather than distant history. Even strong scores can have opportunity areas worth verifying.