Boulder County Health Inspection Scores

vs. Google Business Ratings

Even if you are not familiar with the inner workings of the restaurant industry, you probably know that mandatory–and usually, surprise–health inspections performed by a local representative are a necessary part of opening, owning, and maintaining a food service establishment. Federal, state, and local food safety standards ensure that your dine-in and take-out experiences don’t end in disaster.

But what if they did anyway? Did you head straight to Google to write a scathing review?

And what about the exemplary experiences–those true dining stand-outs? Did you give them the same treatment as you did to the one that forced you to stay 10 feet from your nearest bathroom?

Just as health inspections gauge and regulate the quality of a restaurant by numbers from a local government perspective, the reviews submitted by the average consumer could be a better judge of a restaurant’s true character.

Our team sought to build a model testing the relationship between the health inspection scores and Google ratings of restaurants across Boulder County. We wished to know more about any correlations between these two distantly-related numbers. Please explore our data and subsequent findings.


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Explore the Data



Remember, restaurants want low health inspection scores. Therefore, for each violation a restaurant receives, points are added to its score for that inspection.

Please see the table for a simple explanation of scores and their meanings.

For further reading on this topic and to explore the publicly-accessible Boulder County dataset, click here.

To view summary statistics by city, click here.

Select a Restaurant


How does your favorite restaurant perform?

Received Violations

Interact

Understanding Health Inspection Scores

Health Inspection Score Scales

Google Rating Groups

Scores were binned for analysis.

Health Inspection Score Scales

Violation Overview

  1. Food Source
    • Approved Source
    • Wholesome, free of spoilage
    • Cross-contamination
    • HACCP plan
    • Date Marking
    • Consumer Advisory
    6
  2. Personnel
    • Personnel with infections restricted
    • Wounds properly covered
    • Hands washed as needed
    • Hygenic practices
    • Smoking, eating, drinking
    • Training needed
    • No bare hand contact
    7
  3. Food Temperature Control
    • Rapidly cool to 41 F or lower
    • Rapidly reheat to 165 F or greater
    • Hot hold at 135 F or greater
    • Required cooking temperatures
    • Cold hold at 41 F or lower
    • Food thermometer (probe type)
    • Adequate equipment to food maintain temperatures
    7
  4. Sanitization Rinse
    • Manual
    • Mechanical
    • In-place
    3
  5. Water, Sewage, Plumbing Systems
    • Safe water source
    • Hot and cold water under pressure
    • Backflow
    • Sewage disposal
    4
  6. Handwashing and Toilet Facilities
    • Adequate number, location, design
    • Accessible
    • Soap and drying devices
    3
  7. Pest Control
    • Evidence of pests
    • Pesticide application
    • Animals prohibited
    3
  8. Poisonous or Toxic Items
    • Properly stored
    • Properly labeled
    • Toxic items properly used
    3

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