1. Define the geography before you interpret the numbers
A dashboard is only useful when everyone understands what a location label means. East St. Louis city is a municipality in St. Clair County. Those are different geographic concepts, and a firm may serve the city, the county or a broader territory. The Census estimate of 17,999 describes the city’s population during the 2020–2024 ACS 5-year period; it does not establish how many people searched for counsel, contacted a firm or became clients. Ask to see how city, county and other service-area labels would be represented before treating a location total as a business result.
Recommended approach
Bring your intended service geography to the consultation. Decide whether reporting should distinguish East St. Louis city from St. Clair County and any other areas your firm chooses to evaluate. Do not approve a location field merely because it sounds familiar; agree on the definition and the question the field is meant to answer.
