Accessibility Statement

HomeStats is committed to making U.S. housing data usable by the widest possible audience, including readers who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, voice control, or screen magnification.

Our target standard

This site targets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA and the older WCAG 2.1 Level AA. WCAG 2.2 is a strict superset of 2.1, so meeting it satisfies both. We also align with EN 301 549 (EU), Section 508 (U.S. federal), and the September 2024 U.S. DOJ rule extending Title III ADA expectations to web content.

What we have done

  • Skip-to-content link as the first focusable element
  • Semantic landmarks (header, nav, main, footer) with explicit roles
  • Sequential heading hierarchy (no h2 → h4 jumps in static layouts)
  • Light-theme variant with sufficient contrast ratios for body and large text
  • Visible :focus-visible outlines on every interactive element
  • aria-label on icon-only buttons (theme toggle, mobile menu)
  • Alt text on meaningful images, null alt on decorative graphics
  • Keyboard-navigable filters, calculators, and table widgets
  • Responsive layout that works to 400% zoom without horizontal scroll on the dashboard pages
  • prefers-reduced-motion respected (transitions disabled)

Known limitations

We aim for full conformance but the dashboard mixes server-rendered HTML with client-rendered Svelte islands. The following gaps are tracked and being addressed:

  • Some calculator widgets render result panels via JavaScript; the heading levels inside those panels can occasionally repeat in a way that is correct as a fragment but suboptimal in document order
  • The Leaflet-based map page inherits upstream library behavior; an alternative table view of the same data is available on every dashboard
  • Some embedded third-party content (Redfin tiles, FRED chart screenshots) may not be fully tagged; we link to the original publisher where their canonical view is more accessible
  • Older blog posts may not yet meet 2.2 AA; we are auditing and remediating in priority order

Testing

  • Automated: axe-core, Lighthouse, Pa11y
  • Manual: keyboard-only navigation, browser zoom 200% and 400%
  • Screen readers: NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS
  • Color contrast: WebAIM Contrast Checker

Feedback and requests

If you encounter an accessibility barrier or need content in an alternative format, please contact us. Include the page URL, a description of the issue, and your preferred format or assistive technology. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

Date

This statement was prepared on . It is reviewed at least annually or after any significant change to the dashboard.