diff --git a/appview/indexer/bleve/query.go b/appview/indexer/bleve/query.go
index d96c9d5e..aefc4c8b 100644
--- a/appview/indexer/bleve/query.go
+++ b/appview/indexer/bleve/query.go
@@ -31,3 +31,9 @@ func KeywordFieldQuery(field, keyword string) query.Query {
 	q.FieldVal = field
 	return q
 }
+
+func NumericRangeQuery(field string, min, max *float64) query.Query {
+	q := bleve.NewNumericRangeQuery(min, max)
+	q.FieldVal = field
+	return q
+}
diff --git a/appview/indexer/repos/indexer.go b/appview/indexer/repos/indexer.go
index 874c9724..d2aef059 100644
--- a/appview/indexer/repos/indexer.go
+++ b/appview/indexer/repos/indexer.go
@@ -414,8 +414,9 @@ func (ix *Indexer) Search(ctx context.Context, opts models.RepoSearchOptions) (*
 	indexerQuery.AddMustNot(mustNots...)
 
 	// use a disjunction where:
-	// - Non-forks get normal relevance score
-	// - Forks match but get penalized with lower boost
+	// - repos with more stars get higher boost
+	// - non-forks get a boost
+	// - boosts stack
 	finalQuery := bleve.NewDisjunctionQuery()
 
 	// add the main query
@@ -430,6 +431,36 @@ func (ix *Indexer) Search(ctx context.Context, opts models.RepoSearchOptions) (*
 	notForkQuery.SetBoost(2.0)
 	finalQuery.AddQuery(notForkQuery)
 
+	// add boosted queries for repos with more stars
+	// 10-99 stars
+	tier2Query := bleve.NewBooleanQuery()
+	tier2Query.AddMust(indexerQuery)
+	min10 := float64(10)
+	max99 := float64(99)
+	starRange2 := bleveutil.NumericRangeQuery("star_count", &min10, &max99)
+	tier2Query.AddMust(starRange2)
+	tier2Query.SetBoost(1.5)
+	finalQuery.AddQuery(tier2Query)
+
+	// 100-999 stars
+	tier3Query := bleve.NewBooleanQuery()
+	tier3Query.AddMust(indexerQuery)
+	min100 := float64(100)
+	max999 := float64(999)
+	starRange3 := bleveutil.NumericRangeQuery("star_count", &min100, &max999)
+	tier3Query.AddMust(starRange3)
+	tier3Query.SetBoost(2.5)
+	finalQuery.AddQuery(tier3Query)
+
+	// 1000+ stars
+	tier4Query := bleve.NewBooleanQuery()
+	tier4Query.AddMust(indexerQuery)
+	min1000 := float64(1000)
+	starRange4 := bleveutil.NumericRangeQuery("star_count", &min1000, nil)
+	tier4Query.AddMust(starRange4)
+	tier4Query.SetBoost(4.0)
+	finalQuery.AddQuery(tier4Query)
+
 	// use minimum of 1 to ensure all results match at least one clause
 	finalQuery.SetMin(1)
 
diff --git a/appview/indexer/repos/indexer_test.go b/appview/indexer/repos/indexer_test.go
index 5a8a686a..1fefaa4d 100644
--- a/appview/indexer/repos/indexer_test.go
+++ b/appview/indexer/repos/indexer_test.go
@@ -637,3 +637,99 @@ func TestDelete(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, uint64(1), result.Total)
 	assert.Contains(t, result.Hits, int64(2))
 }
+
+func TestStarCountBoosting(t *testing.T) {
+	ix, cleanup := setupTestIndexer(t)
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	err := ix.Index(ctx,
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          1,
+			Did:         "did:plc:alice",
+			Name:        "repo",
+			Description: "testing",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 5000},
+		},
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          2,
+			Did:         "did:plc:bob",
+			Name:        "repo",
+			Description: "testing",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 150},
+		},
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          3,
+			Did:         "did:plc:charlie",
+			Name:        "repo",
+			Description: "testing",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 5},
+		},
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          4,
+			Did:         "did:plc:dana",
+			Name:        "repo",
+			Description: "testing",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 25},
+		},
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// search for "testing" - should rank by star count when all else equal
+	result, err := ix.Search(ctx, models.RepoSearchOptions{
+		Keywords: []string{"testing"},
+		Page:     pagination.Page{Limit: 10},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, uint64(4), result.Total)
+
+	// verify that repos with more stars rank higher than those with fewer
+	popularIdx := -1
+	smallIdx := -1
+	for i, hit := range result.Hits {
+		if hit == 1 { // 5000 stars
+			popularIdx = i
+		}
+		if hit == 3 { // 5 stars
+			smallIdx = i
+		}
+	}
+	assert.True(t, popularIdx < smallIdx, "repo with 5000 stars should rank above repo with 5 stars")
+}
+
+func TestStarBoostingWithForkPenalty(t *testing.T) {
+	ix, cleanup := setupTestIndexer(t)
+	defer cleanup()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	err := ix.Index(ctx,
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          1,
+			Did:         "did:plc:alice",
+			Name:        "original-popular",
+			Description: "test project",
+			Source:      "",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 100},
+		},
+		models.Repo{
+			Id:          2,
+			Did:         "did:plc:bob",
+			Name:        "fork-very-popular",
+			Description: "test project",
+			Source:      "did:plc:someone/original",
+			RepoStats:   &models.RepoStats{StarCount: 1000},
+		},
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	result, err := ix.Search(ctx, models.RepoSearchOptions{
+		Keywords: []string{"project"},
+		Page:     pagination.Page{Limit: 10},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// fork with 1000 stars (4.0x) vs non-fork with 100 stars (2.0 * 2.5 = 5.0x)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(1), result.Hits[0], "non-fork with fewer stars can still rank higher due to combined boost")
+}