Editorial Policy
Accuracy and independence are the whole point. Here is how the data is sourced, scored, and kept honest.
How we source & verify data
- Every metric comes from public U.S. government datasets (Census ACS, BEA Regional Price Parities) — never scraped from other sites or written from memory.
- Each figure on a city page shows its source and vintage year and links back to the agency.
- If a value is missing or suppressed at the source, we leave it out rather than guess.
How scores are computed
- All scores and rankings are computed from the data by published formulas — see the methodology page.
- There is no editorial override and nothing is hand-ranked, so there is nothing to sell.
- Scores are estimates by design and are labeled as such.
Independence & advertising
- We accept no payment for placement, scores, or coverage.
- Advertising, when present, is clearly separated from content and never influences a ranking or score.
- Corrections are welcome and prioritized — report one here.