Data sources

Where every number comes from, how the pieces are joined together, and what each source does and doesn't tell you.

How federal and state data are knitted together

Each source is a thread. Each join key is a post. A thread ties into every post it has a key for.

Drag any piece to rearrange the diagram.
How federal and state data are knitted togetherEach data source is a thread. Seven join keys stand as posts: school ID, 2-digit broad field code, 4-digit field code, 6-digit program code, occupation code, O*NET career code, and state or metro area. Where a thread ties into a post, that source is joined to everything else on the same post. You can drag the pieces to rearrange them. Federal data, national Federal data measured for each state and metro Data submitted by the states Where a thread ties into a post, that source is joined to everything else on the same post. UNITIDa school CIP 2-digita broad field CIP 4-digita family CIP 6-digita program SOC codean occupation O*NET-SOCa career State / metroa place IPEDS institutionswho the schools are IPEDS completionsdegrees by school and program IPEDS school surveyscost, aid, admissions, graduation College Scorecardgraduate earnings and debt Census PSEOearnings and industries, 1-10 yrs DHS STEM listwhich programs are STEM CIP to SOC crosswalkprograms to occupations BLS OEWS wagespay: national, state, metro BLS projectionsgrowth, openings, entry education BLS working conditionswhat the job asks of workers Census ACS microdatastudied, earn, industries O*NETskills, interests, education mix State licenses (CareerOneStop)submitted by each state Certifications (CareerOneStop)professional credentials BEA price levelsprice levels by state and metro Census map outlinesstate and metro shapes

From a school to a career

Drag any box and its lines follow. Drag a line to bend it.
From a school to a careerSchools link to programs by UNITID. Programs link to occupations through the CIP to SOC crosswalk. Occupation data links to O*NET careers by SOC code. Price levels link to wages by state and metro area. You can drag the pieces to rearrange them.SCHOOLS PROGRAMS THE BRIDGE OCCUPATIONS (SOC) CAREERS (O*NET) SOC = first 6 digits of the O*NET code Licenses and certifications come from CareerOneStop already tied to O*NET codes (join key: O*NET-SOC). Scorecard earnings are matched to a school by UNITID and to a field of study by CIP. UNITID UNITID UNITID + CIP field CIP code, 6-digit CIP SOC code state / metro area IPEDS institutions6,572 schoolsname, state, control, level IPEDS school surveysadmissions, cost, aid,graduation, finance, staff College Scorecardgraduate earnings and debtby school and field of study IPEDS completionsdegrees awarded by school,program and year (2019-2024) DHS STEM listdesignated programs CIP to SOC crosswalkNCES / BLS, CIP 2020 toSOC 20181,949 programs link to867 occupations. A programcan lead to many careers. BLS workingconditions (ORS)2023 estimates BLS projectionsgrowth, openings, entryeducation, training BLS OEWS wagesnational, state andmetro, May 2025 BEA price levels50 states and DC,387 metro areas A career1,016 occupationsO*NET 31.0skills, interests,education mixState licensesCareerOneStop651 careers coveredCertificationsCareerOneStop743 careers covered
SchoolAny school that reports nursing degreesIPEDS lists it and its completions by program and year.Key: UNITID
ProgramRegistered Nursing/Registered NurseCIP 51.3801, one of the school's degree programs.Key: CIP code (6-digit); the first four digits give the broader field, 51.38
BridgeCrosswalkThe CIP–SOC crosswalk links this program to Registered Nurses and other related occupations.Key: SOC 29-1141
OccupationRegistered NursesBLS: $97,550 median wage (May 2025), +5.6% growth 2025–2035. BLS survey: 70.6% of nurses cannot pause their work.Key: SOC code
Career detailO*NET-SOC 29-1141.00Skills and interests from O*NET, state licenses and 145 direct certifications from CareerOneStop.Key: O*NET-SOC code

The data model

Each box is a table. Each line is a join.

Drag any box and its lines follow. Drag a line to bend it.
MajorPays data modelEntity diagram. Institutions have school surveys, Scorecard and Census PSEO earnings and industries, and completions. Completions point to programs. Programs link to careers through the crosswalk. Careers have wages by state or metro area, the fields of degree their workers studied, working conditions, licenses by state, and certifications. You can drag the pieces to rearrange them.PK = primary key (identifies a row) FK = foreign key (points at another table; this is the join key) 1 / N = one row relates to many rows Each box is one file or part of a file. "Derived" fields are computed by MajorPays. 1N N1 N1 11 N1 1N N1 1N 1N 1N N1 N1 N1 1N 1N N1 N1 1N N1 1N N1 1N N1 1N INSTITUTIONIPEDSunitidPKnamecity, statecontrol, levelwebsitenet price SCHOOL_SURVEYSIPEDSunitidFKyearadmissions, yieldprice, aid, loansgraduation rate, by groupfinance, staff SCORECARD_EARNINGSCollege ScorecardunitidFKcip4 fieldFKcredential levelearnings 1, 4, 5 yrsmedian debtnational benchmark COMPLETIONSIPEDSunitidFKcip (6-digit)FKaward yearcredential levelcompletions PROGRAMNCES CIP + DHScip (6-digit)PKtitlecip4 fieldFKSTEM flag PROGRAM_CAREERCIP-SOC crosswalkcipFKonet_socFKmany to many WORKING_CONDITIONSBLS ORSsoc6FKmeasure% of workers, hrs, lbs CAREERO*NET + BLSonet_socPKsoc6titlejob zone, interestsskills, knowledge, techworkers' education mixentry education, traininggrowth, openingsnational wageSTEM (derived)license level (derived) WAGESBLS OEWSsoc6FKareaFKmedian, mean, p10, p90hourly wagesemployment AREABLS, BEA, Censusstate or metroPKnameprice index (BEA)map outline LICENSECareerOneStoponet_socFKstateFKlicense titleexam, education, experienceagency link CAREER_CERTCareerOneStoponet_socFKcert_idFK CERTIFICATIONCareerOneStopcert_idPKname, acronymcertifying orgtypeweb address CIP_FIELDNCES CIP, 4-digitcip4PKtitle PSEO_EARNINGSCensus PSEOunitidFKcip4 fieldFKdegree levelearnings 1, 5, 10 yrs25th / 50th / 75th pctlnumber of graduates PSEO_INDUSTRYCensus PSEO flowsunitidFKcip2 broad fielddegree levelnaics sectoremployed grads 1, 5, 10 yrs FIELD_OF_DEGREECensus ACS microdatasoc6FKfield of degreeshare, median paysample size EDUCATION_PAYCensus ACS microdatasoc6FKeducation levelmedian paysample size INSTITUTION_OUTCOMESCollege ScorecardunitidFKearnings 6, 8, 10 yrsearnings by family incomeloan repayment statusdefault rate, debtPell, loan shares INDUSTRY_EMPLOYMENTCensus ACS microdatasoc6FKnaics sectorshare of workerssample size CAREER_DETAILO*NET tasks and titlesonet_socFKtask + importancework activityother job titles UNION_GROUPBLS CPS tables 42, 43soc major groupPK% union membersmedian weekly paymembers vs non-union

The variables each source provides, and the ones they share

Sources on the sides hold what only they provide. The middle holds the variables and join keys several sources contribute to, so every source is linked. Hover one to see who feeds it.

Drag any box and its lines follow. Drag a line to bend it.
Unique variables per source and the variables they shareEach source card lists the variables only that source provides. The middle column lists the variables and join keys that several sources contribute to. Lines show which sources contribute to which shared variable. You can drag the pieces to rearrange them.UNIQUE TO EACH SOURCESHARED BY SEVERAL SOURCESUNIQUE TO EACH SOURCE Join key: what ties the sources together Shared measure: same kind of value from several sources IPEDS institutionsname, citycontrol (public/private)level (2-year/4-year)website IPEDS completionsaward yeardegrees awarded (count) IPEDS surveys + CATCadmission and yield ratestuition, net priceaid and loan ratesgraduation raterevenue, expensesstaff count, faculty salary College Scorecardearnings 1, 4, 5 years outmedian debtnational benchmark DHS STEM listSTEM designation CIP-SOC crosswalkprogram-to-occupation pairs Census PSEOearnings 1, 5, 10 years out25th / 50th / 75th percentile Census ACS microdatafield of degree by occupationcounts, pay by education O*NETtitle, descriptionskills, knowledge, technologieswork stylesinterest type (RIASEC)Job Zone BLS OEWSmedian and mean wage10th / 90th percentile wagehourly wage BLS projectionsgrowth %, annual openingsself-employed sharework experience needed BLS working conditionsstanding, sitting, liftingoutdoor, heat, cold, heightsnoise, public contact, pace CareerOneStop licenseslicense titleexam, education, experiencelicense type, agency link CareerOneStop certificationscertification, acronymcertifying organizationtype, web address BEA price levelsprice index (US = 100) Census mapsstate and metro outlines Education leveltypical / most common Preparationtraining / Job Zone UNITIDa school Employmentnumber of workers Credential leveldegree type Paywage or earnings SOC codean occupation CIP 6-digita program CIP 4-digita field of study O*NET-SOCa specific career Statea state Metro areaa metro (CBSA)

Who each pay figure counts

Four sources, different groups of people. They are not meant to match. Scorecard and Census earnings are each published for one school, one broad field (4-digit CIP family) and one degree level, not per specific program; see the dictionary.

Drag any piece to rearrange the diagram.
Who each pay figure countsA timeline of years of experience. BLS OEWS wages cover workers at every experience level. College Scorecard earnings are for one school's graduates 1, 4 and 5 years after graduation, and Census PSEO earnings are for one school's graduates 1, 5 and 10 years after. IPEDS salaries are faculty pay, a different group. BEA price levels adjust wages for local prices. You can drag the pieces to rearrange them. Early career 0 5 10 15 20 25 30+ Years of experience BLS OEWSwhat workers earneveryone in the occupation, all experience levels College Scorecardwhat one school's graduates earn145earnings 1, 4 and 5 years after graduating Census PSEOwhat one school's graduates earn1510earnings 1, 5 and 10 years after graduating IPEDS staff surveywhat a school pays its facultya different group: professors, not graduates BEA adjustsfor local prices
SourceMeasuresWho is countedDetailYear
BLS OEWSMedian, mean and percentile wagesAll workers in the occupation, at every experience level6-digit occupation; national, state, metroMay 2025
College ScorecardEarnings 1, 4 and 5 years after graduating, plus debtOne school's graduates in a program who were workingSchool, field of study, credential levelJune 2026 release (file stamped May 2026)
Census PSEOEarnings 1, 5 and 10 years after graduating (25th, 50th, 75th percentile)One school's graduates found in state wage records, with or without federal aid; misses those who moved to a non-participating state or are self-employedSchool, field of study, degree level; participating schools onlyRelease 2026Q2
IPEDS staff surveyAverage faculty salaryA school's own full-time instructional staffSchool and rankMost recent year
BEA price levelsNot pay. Restates a wage in average-price termsAdjusts an OEWS wage for local pricesState and metro area2024

CIP codes: two, four and six digits

CIP is the federal list of fields of study. The 2-digit code names a broad field; each two digits added narrow it, to a 4-digit family and then a 6-digit program. Each source uses one level, so they join at different levels; see the dictionary.

CIP codes: two, four and six digitsA 2-digit CIP code names a broad field, for example 51 Health Professions and Related Programs. Adding two digits gives a 4-digit family, for example 51.38 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Adding two more gives a 6-digit program, for example 51.3801 Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse. Census PSEO industries use the 2-digit field. College Scorecard and Census PSEO earnings use the 4-digit family. IPEDS degree counts, the CIP to SOC crosswalk and the DHS STEM list use the 6-digit program.2-digit CIP: a broad field51 Health Professions and RelatedProgramsUsed byCensus PSEO: industries graduateswork in (Where graduates work)The widest level used here: a wholearea such as Health or Engineering.add twodigits4-digit CIP: a family51.38 Registered Nursing, NursingAdministration, Nursing Research...Used byCollege Scorecard: earnings and debtCensus PSEO: earnings, 1, 5, 10 yearsRankings and What grads earn rowsGroups several programs, so theyshare one earnings figure.add twodigits6-digit CIP: one program51.3801 Registered Nursing/Registered NurseUsed byIPEDS: degrees awarded by programCIP to SOC crosswalk: program to careersDHS STEM list: which are STEMSearch Programs and program pagesThe finest level. Schools list theirprograms this way.

SOC codes: six digits and eight digits

SOC is the federal list of occupations. The 6-digit code names an occupation; O*NET adds two digits to split some of them into specialties. BLS publishes wages and projections at 6 digits, so a specialty shares its parent's figures. See the dictionary.

SOC codes: six digits and eight digitsA 6-digit SOC code names an occupation, for example 29-1141 Registered Nurses. O*NET adds two digits to split some occupations into specialties, for example 11-1011.00 Chief Executives and 11-1011.03 Chief Sustainability Officers. BLS wages, projections and working conditions, and the CIP to SOC crosswalk use the 6-digit code. O*NET, state licenses and certifications use the 8-digit code. A specialty shares the wage of its 6-digit parent.6-digit SOC: an occupation11-1011 Chief ExecutivesUsed byBLS OEWS: wages by state and metroBLS projections: growth, openings, entry educationBLS working conditions (ORS)CIP to SOC crosswalk: which programs lead hereThe federal standard. BLS publishes its numbers at this level.8-digit O*NET-SOC: a specific career11-1011.00 Chief Executives11-1011.03 Chief Sustainability OfficersUsed byO*NET: skills, interests, education mixCareerOneStop: state licenses and certificationsThe 1,016 careers on the siteSplits some occupations into specialties. A specialty sharesthe wage and outlook of its 6-digit parent.add twodigits

How much each source covers

Where a source has no data for an item, the site says so instead of guessing.

DataHas dataShare
Careers (of 1,016)
O*NET details1,016100%
BLS projections96295%
BLS national wage95694%
Certifications74373%
State licenses65164%
Union membership (occupation group)99798%
Injury and illness rates (occupation or group)96695%
Projected supply and demand (health careers)465%
Industries that employ the career42942%
Pay by education level39739%
What workers studied33733%
Working conditions58958%
Schools (of 6,572)
Finances6,49699%
Staff and salaries6,49199%
Financial aid5,98491%
Tuition trends5,59185%
School outcomes (earnings, repayment)4,92075%
Scorecard earnings5,45183%
Graduation rates3,93460%
Admissions2,16433%
Metro areas (of 393)
Metro wages (OEWS)393100%
Metro prices (BEA)38798%

Where Census PSEO has data

Each square is a state; the number is the share of that state's graduates the data covers (Census estimate, 2015). Graduates are counted only when they work in one of these states.

Where Census PSEO has dataA map of the United States drawn as one square per state. 37 states and DC take part, shaded by the share of the state's graduates the data covers. Thirteen states have no data: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Washington.AK: no PSEO dataAKME: about 54% of graduates coveredME54%WI: about 45% of graduates coveredWI45%VT: about 5% of graduates coveredVT5%NH: no PSEO dataNHWA: no PSEO dataWAID: about 24% of graduates coveredID24%MT: about 83% of graduates coveredMT83%ND: no PSEO dataNDMN: about 74% of graduates coveredMN74%IL: about 69% of graduates coveredIL69%MI: about 10% of graduates coveredMI10%NY: about 44% of graduates coveredNY44%MA: about 32% of graduates coveredMA32%OR: about 70% of graduates coveredOR70%NV: no PSEO dataNVWY: about 86% of graduates coveredWY86%SD: about 79% of graduates coveredSD79%IA: about 69% of graduates coveredIA69%IN: about 87% of graduates coveredIN87%OH: about 67% of graduates coveredOH67%PA: about 16% of graduates coveredPA16%NJ: about 80% of graduates coveredNJ80%CT: about 69% of graduates coveredCT69%RI: about 10% of graduates coveredRI10%CA: no PSEO dataCAUT: about 74% of graduates coveredUT74%CO: about 73% of graduates coveredCO73%NE: no PSEO dataNEMO: about 50% of graduates coveredMO50%KY: no PSEO dataKYWV: about 44% of graduates coveredWV44%VA: about 87% of graduates coveredVA87%MD: about 91% of graduates coveredMD91%DE: no PSEO dataDEAZ: about 24% of graduates coveredAZ24%NM: about 87% of graduates coveredNM87%KS: no PSEO dataKSAR: no PSEO dataARTN: about 52% of graduates coveredTN52%NC: about 38% of graduates coveredNC38%SC: about 86% of graduates coveredSC86%DC: about 3% of graduates coveredDC3%OK: about 66% of graduates coveredOK66%LA: about 74% of graduates coveredLA74%MS: no PSEO dataMSAL: about 21% of graduates coveredAL21%GA: about 43% of graduates coveredGA43%HI: about 72% of graduates coveredHI72%TX: about 77% of graduates coveredTX77%FL: no PSEO dataFL

80% or more60 to 79%30 to 59%under 30%no data

No data: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Washington. A school has PSEO earnings only if its state takes part, and someone who moves to a state without data (say, to California for work) is not counted in their school's figures. Below 30% means only some of the state's schools take part.

The sources

Click a tile for the official page.

O*NET 31.02026CC BY 4.0KeysO*NET-SOCGives usSkillsInterestsEducation mixTechnologiesTasks, activities, job titles BLS OEWSMay 2025Public domainKeysSOCStateMetroGives usPay BLS projections2025-2035Public domainKeysSOCGives usGrowthOpeningsEntry educationTraining BLS working conditions2023Public domainKeysSOCGives usPhysical demandsEnvironmentPaceBLS union membership2025Public domainKeysSOC groupGives usUnion membership, payBLS injuries and illnesses2023-2024Public domainKeysSOCGives usInjury ratesDays awayHRSA health workforce projectionsFY2025Public domainKeysSOCGives usSupplyDemandRural gapCensus ACS 5-year (counties, cities, ZIP areas)2020-2024Cite CensusKeysCountyPlaceZCTAGives usEarnings by educationPopulationIncome, rent, home valueUnemployment by educationRent burdenCommutesAgeBroadbandHealth insuranceHome ownershipPovertyCollege enrollmentWorking from homeVeterans IPEDS2018-19 to 2024-25Public domainKeysUNITIDCIP 6-digitGives usDegreesAdmissionsAidGraduationFinancesStaff College ScorecardMar 2026CC BYKeysUNITIDCIP 4-digitGives usGraduate earningsDebtSchool outcomesCompletion, transfer, withdrawal CIP-SOC crosswalkCIP 2020 / SOC 2018U.S. governmentKeysCIP 6-digitSOCGives usProgram to career CareerOneStopLicenses 2010-24, certs Jul 2026Cite the sourceKeysO*NET-SOCStateGives usLicensesCertifications BEA price levels2024Public domainKeysStateMetroGives usCost of livingCensus PSEORelease 2026Q2AttributionKeysSchoolCIP 4-digitGives usEarnings 1, 5, 10 yrs outGraduate industriesCensus ACS microdata2024Cite CensusKeysSOCGives usWhat workers studiedPay by educationIndustries that hire DHS STEM listCurrent listU.S. governmentKeysCIP 6-digitGives usSTEM flag Census mapsTIGER/LineU.S. governmentKeysStateMetroGives usMap shapes BLS local unemployment2024Public domainKeysCountyGives usUnemployment rate, all workersHRSA shortage areas2026CC0KeysCountyGives usPrimary care shortage scoreDental shortage scoreMental health shortage scoreBLS job openings (JOLTS)12-month averagePublic domainKeysStateGives usJob openingsHiresQuitsBLS pay by industryMay 2025Public domainKeysSOC occupationGives usIndustries that employ a careerMedian pay by industryIPEDS campus details2023-24Public domainKeysCollegeGives usCost of attendanceEnrollment by race and genderWhere first-year students come fromCampus featuresFaculty payDegrees by gender and raceStudent ageO*NET work and training31.0CC BY 4.0KeysCareerGives usWork contextRelated careersTypical preparationCensus business patterns2023Cite CensusKeysCountyGives usJobs per 100 residentsAverage pay per jobIRS income by ZIPTax year 2022Public domainKeysZIP codeGives usAverage income per returnReturns over $100,000DOL H-1B wage offersFY2025Public domainKeysSOCGives usWages employers offered H-1B workersBEA county income2024Public domainKeysCountyGives usIncome per personCensus poverty estimates2023Cite CensusKeysCountyGives usPoverty rateChild poverty rateHUD fair market rentFY2025Public domainKeysCountyGives us2-bedroom fair market rentBLS employee benefitsMar-Jun 2026Public domainKeysSOC groupGives usRetirement, health, paid leave accessCompensation cost per hourNSF graduate survey2023Cite NSFKeysDegree fieldGives usJob related to degree
Explained in the Dictionary:CIP-SOC crosswalkSOC and O*NET-SOC codesWhere sources overlapWhy pay figures differCoverage and gaps

Credits

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database (2026) by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. MajorPays has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Work environment conditions on career pages come from the O*NET Work Context data (same database).

Graduate students in science, engineering and health: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering 2024, data tables NSF 26-307); research space by institution: NSF NCSES Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities, fiscal year 2023. MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; NSF has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

College Scorecard data: U.S. Department of Education, collegescorecard.ed.gov, listed by the Department under a Creative Commons Attribution license. MajorPays has reorganized and summarized this data; the Department of Education has not approved or endorsed these changes.

IPEDS data: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds). MajorPays has reorganized and summarized this data; it is not endorsed by the Department of Education. Cost of attendance (2024-25 published charges from the IPEDS Cost component, provisional), completion within eight years (Outcome Measures, entering class of 2016-17), test score ranges (Admissions, fall 2024), graduation rates by Pell Grant and subsidized-loan status (Graduation Rates, entering class of 2018 or 2021, status as of August 31, 2024), 12-month enrollment including high school (dual-enrollment) students (2023-24), how long it takes to finish a bachelor's degree (4-, 5- and 6-year completion), whether programs can be completed entirely online (Find schools by field of study page), Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense tuition assistance recipients (2023-24), 2024-25 published charges for cost of attendance (the IPEDS Cost component, provisional; replaces the 2023-24 charges), state totals of colleges, students and degrees awarded (state pages), the colleges located in each county, metropolitan area and city (county, metro and city pages), full-time faculty by tenure status (fall 2024), graduation rates of less-than-two-year schools (cohort entering 2021), eight-year bachelor's completion (cohort entering 2016), academic library spending and staffing (fiscal 2024), ages of graduates (2023-24), students in selected fields of study (fall 2024), the admissions, financial aid and net price calculator web addresses schools report (school profiles), and six-year trends in total enrollment, graduation rates and degrees awarded (Fall Enrollment and Graduation Rates 2019 to 2024 and Completions 2018-19 to 2023-24) and fall 2024 enrollment by gender and by race and ethnicity the share of students taking courses online and where first-year students come from (Fall Enrollment survey), and admission policy, application fee, calendar, housing, athletics and student services (Institutional Characteristics survey) were added on October 3 and 4, 2026; the Department of Education has not endorsed MajorPays' presentation.

Wage, projection and working-conditions data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). MajorPays has selected and reorganized this information; BLS has not approved or endorsed it. Industry detail for each career (the industries that employ the most workers and their median pay) is from the OEWS industry-specific estimates for May 2025. The salary pages (a career's pay in each state) use the OEWS state estimates for May 2025 with the BEA price levels.

State licensing and certification data: CareerOneStop, part of the CareerOneStop suite of web products, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. MajorPays has reorganized this information; the Department of Labor has not approved or endorsed it.

Price levels (state and metro pages): 2024, all items and housing, U.S. = 100, from the state and metropolitan files (SARPP and MARPP). These are price levels, not a cost-of-living index for any household. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities.

Graduate earnings over time: Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), experimental data, release 2026Q2. Covers participating schools only; shown exactly as published. Industry shares (NAICS sector of the employer, by broad 2-digit field) use the same program's flows file; the percentages are MajorPays' own calculation.

School outcomes: Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard (institution-level data, June 2026), Creative Commons Attribution. MajorPays has selected and reorganized the measures; the Department has not endorsed them. Net price by family income, first-year retention, first-generation share, part-time and age 25+ shares, median family income and 3-year loan repayment were added on October 3 and 4, 2026 from the same release. School setting, accreditor, special-mission labels (such as historically Black or women's colleges) and earnings by gender were added on October 4, 2026. Median federal loan debt by group (finished or left, Pell or not, first-generation or not, family income of $0 to $30,000 or above $75,000) and, separately, 3-year repayment for borrowers who finished versus left were added on October 6, 2026 from the same release; the debt figures are for the FY2020 and FY2021 pooled cohorts and the repayment figures are for FY2013 and FY2014 borrowers (a field the Department no longer updates); values the Department suppresses are left blank. The number of students with and without reported earnings 10 years after entry (AY2009-10 and 2010-11 entrants) was added the same day. The share of students earning more than a typical high school graduate (6, 8 and 10 years after entry) and the transfer rate were added on October 4, 2026 from the same release. Program-level earnings and debt (Field of Study file, June 2026 release) were added to school profiles, to the Find schools by field of study page and to the Downloads page (Program outcomes file) on October 4, 2026.

CIP field names: U.S. Dept. of Education, NCES, Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP 2020).

Education pays and state pages (Education pays, earnings by state): medians and unemployment rates are MajorPays' own estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample; colleges by graduate earnings from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Does your major pay off? pages (majors): earnings and debt by field of study and degree level (bachelor's, associate, master's and undergraduate certificate) from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Creative Commons Attribution); related careers from O*NET 31.0 (CC BY 4.0); field titles from NCES CIP 2020.

News: releases from the public-domain U.S. Census Bureau newsroom and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis feeds and, through its official API, Federal Register notices from the Education and Labor Departments, Census, BLS and HRSA, kept only when they connect to data on this site, labeled as already in our data or possible to add, and showing the license of the data they relate to (see News).

Rank cities and counties and the States map: Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (Tables B20004, B01003, B15003, B19013, B25064, B25077, B23006, B25070, B08303, B01002, B28002, B19001 (household income brackets; Compare page charts) and B24011 (median earnings by occupation group) and B24031 (median earnings by industry), the last two shown only when the margin of error is at most 20%) for counties, places and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, and the 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample (MajorPays' own estimates) for states; BEA Regional Price Parities.

Projected supply and demand: Source: U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Health Workforce Projections (FY2025), for 46 health careers; also listed on data.gov.

Health care shortage layers on the States map and the counties list: U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Professional Shortage Areas (primary care, dental health and mental health; designated area-based designations; highest score per county). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; HRSA has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Local jobs and income layers on the States map, the cities, counties and ZIP codes page and the county, city and ZIP code pages (each place's own page repeats its list of sources): county unemployment from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (2024 annual averages); jobs and average pay per job by county from the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (private-sector, non-farm employers; Census adds noise to protect confidentiality; also the three largest industries by jobs in each county card); and average income per tax return by ZIP code from the Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, tax year 2022 (ZIP codes with fewer than 100 returns are not published). These are U.S. Government statistical products. MajorPays selected and reorganized them, calculated jobs per 100 residents and average pay per job, and none of these agencies has approved or endorsed this presentation.

State job openings, hires and quits: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), state estimates, total nonfarm, seasonally adjusted rates averaged over the latest 12 months (model-based; revised). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

State union membership: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Union Members (Table 5, state annual averages, 2025). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

County income, poverty and rent layers: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (personal income per person, 2024); U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2023; model-based estimates with margins of error); U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (fiscal year 2025). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; none of these agencies has approved or endorsed this presentation.

Career pages, wages employers offered H-1B workers: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Labor Condition Application disclosure data, fiscal year 2025 (certified, full-time H-1B applications). MajorPays reads only the occupation code, status, positions and wage fields, converts wages to a yearly amount, and shows percentiles for occupations with at least 30 certified applications; no employer names or contact details are used. The Department notes that the files can contain data-entry errors, and the figures are wages named in applications, not what every worker earns. The Department of Labor has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Compare page, green card (PERM) applications: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, PERM Disclosure Data, fiscal year 2025 (certified applications, including certifications that later expired). MajorPays counts filings by occupation code and converts the lowest wage offered to a yearly amount; a count or median appears only with at least 10 filings. These are employer filings, not counts of workers, openings or typical pay. Some occupations (for example registered nurses and physical therapists) are handled under a different federal process and have few or no filings in this file, so a low count does not mean few people in the occupation obtain green cards. MajorPays selected and reorganized the data; the Department of Labor has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Trends page, pay, student debt and years since the bachelor’s degree of new research doctorates: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates 2023, data tables NSF 24-336 (Tables 3-5, 3-6, 4-4 and 6-7). Values are copied from the published table; cells NSF withholds are shown as dashes. MajorPays selected and reorganized the figures; NSF has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Jobs located here (county and state pages): 2025 annual average jobs, employers and average annual pay per job, and the change in jobs from 2024, for all industries (BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, total covered); average pay per job is not a graduate's earnings. Pay by industry (county and state pages): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages (jobs covered by unemployment insurance; average annual pay per job; withheld cells omitted). The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Home price change (county and state pages): U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index datasets (annual county index, all-transactions); MajorPays computed the 1-, 5- and 10-year changes from the published index. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Research spending: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey, fiscal year 2024 (R&D expenditures by source of funds, institution-level public-use files; institutions that report several campuses together or that NSF did not match to a federal institution identifier are not shown, and some totals are NSF estimates). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the National Science Foundation has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Urban-rural classification of counties: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2023 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. MajorPays selected and reorganized these codes; the agency has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Trends over time: U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2023 (Tables 330.10 on college costs, 326.10 on six-year graduation rates and 303.70 on undergraduate enrollment are from the 2024 edition), Tables 330.10 (college costs), 303.70 (undergraduate fall enrollment, 1970 to 2023), 302.10 (share of high school completers enrolled in college the following October, 1960 to 2022), 322.10 (bachelor's degrees by field of study, three school years), 302.60 (share of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college, 1970 to 2022), 326.20 (graduation rate at two-year colleges within 150 percent of normal time), 104.20 (education reached by 25- to 29-year-olds, 1940 to 2023), 318.10 (degrees awarded by level, 1970 to 2022), 331.20 (aid received by first-year students, 2001 to 2022), 505.10 (young bachelor's graduates by field of study, 2012 and 2022), 332.45 (graduate-school loans by graduate program, 2007-08 and 2019-20), 321.10 (associate's degrees by field of study), 323.10 (master's degrees by field of study), 315.10 (faculty: part-time and women's shares, 1970 to 2022), 333.10 (public college revenue by source), 317.10 (number of degree-granting institutions), 505.50 (first-year salaries of bachelor's graduates by field), 326.15 (status six years after starting, four-year colleges), 331.30 (average net price by family income and type of college), 330.40 (cost of attendance by living arrangement and type of college), 326.30 (first-year retention by type of college), 306.10 (women's share of fall enrollment), 316.10 (average faculty salary by rank, 1970-71 to 2022-23), 311.15 (distance education participation, fall 2021 and 2022), 326.10 (six-year graduation rate of first-time full-time bachelor's students, 1996 to 2017 entry classes), 331.95 (student loans among graduates, from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study), 502.30 (earnings by education, ages 25 to 34, from the Census Bureau) and 104.10 (educational attainment of adults, from the Census Bureau), copied and rounded; NCES and the Census Bureau have not approved or endorsed this presentation.

More Trends cards from the same Digest of Education Statistics 2023: Table 305.30 (how colleges select students), 311.33 (colleges that are primarily online), 312.30 (women’s colleges), 312.40 (Hispanic-Serving Institutions), 303.50 (age of undergraduates), 314.10 (staff at colleges), 326.27 (completion within 4, 6 and 8 years for the 2014-15 entering group) and 330.30 (spread of college prices by percentile). Values are copied from the published tables; shares marked as computed divide two published counts.

What households spend, by education (Education pays page): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, 2024 annual means by highest education level of any member of the consumer unit, copied; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Pay by education and age (Trends page): U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2026, Table PINC-03 (median earnings of full-time, year-round workers by education and age group, income year 2025), copied and rounded; the Census Bureau has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Unemployment by education since 1992 (Trends page): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, series LNS14027659, LNS14027660, LNS14027689 and LNS14027662; MajorPays averaged the monthly rates by calendar year. Employment-population ratio by education (Trends page): the same survey and file, series LNS12327659, LNS12327660, LNS12327689 and LNS12327662, averaged the same way. Median weekly earnings by education since 1979 (constant dollars, CPI-U-RS base 2025): series LEU0258182500, LEU0258182600, LEU0258182700 and LEU0258182800 from the same BLS public files, copied. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Money and education: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), 2025 public-use data (dataset DOI 10.17016/datasets.002). MajorPays calculated weighted group percentages and approximate margins of error; the Federal Reserve Board has not approved or endorsed this presentation. Family income and wealth by education: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Survey of Consumer Finances 2022, published tables 1 and 4 (real 2022 dollars), copied without recalculation.

Career skills, knowledge, abilities and technology (career page): this page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license: the eight highest-rated skills and knowledge areas and up to ten “hot technology” software examples per career. MajorPays selected these items (a modification); USDOL/ETA has not approved or endorsed this. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Downloads: the CSV files on the Download data, Trends over time and Find schools by field pages are built from the datasets listed above; each ZIP includes a README that names the sources, carries the attribution and license text, explains every column and says the agencies have not endorsed the presentation.

Wages by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area estimates (jobs, median and mean annual wages and local concentration by occupation). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Unemployment by education level (education-pays page): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation, Current Population Survey, Table A-4 (people 25 and older, seasonally adjusted, latest month) and Usual Weekly Earnings Table 5 (full-time workers 25 and older, latest quarter). MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Employer cost of compensation: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, Table 2, June 2026 (cost per hour worked for wages and benefits, by occupational group; shown on career pages as a group figure). The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

School profiles, faculty pay and degrees by gender and race (also Human Resources, Employees by Assigned Position: instructional staff headcount, full time and part time, fall 2024, table EAP2024, provisional; and Fall Enrollment by distance education status: students taking no, some or all courses online, fall 2024, table EF2024A_DIST, provisional; and Human Resources, full-time instructional staff by academic rank, fall 2024, table S2024_SIS, provisional; and Institutional Characteristics tuition plans, Promise Program participation and extra financial-information requests, 2024-25, table Cost1_2024, provisional; and Finance derived variables: shares of core revenues and core expenses, table DRVF2024, provisional; and Admissions considerations (what a school requires or considers in admission), table ADM2024, provisional; and Student Financial Aid: grants from state or local governments and from the institution for first-time full-time undergraduates and any grant aid for all undergraduates, 2023-24, table SFA2324, provisional): U.S. Department of Education, NCES, IPEDS Human Resources (salaries of full-time instructional staff, 2024-25, table SAL2024_IS), Fall Enrollment by age (fall 2024, table EF2024B), Completions (awards and degrees conferred, 2023-24, provisional release, file C2024_A, including degrees by broad field of study and the list of schools awarding degrees in a field, using the NCES Classification of Instructional Programs 2020) Institutional Characteristics (graduate tuition and fees, closure dates, federal student aid (Title IV) participation status, land-grant status, whether the institution has a hospital or a medical school, and the governing system or parent organization name from the 2024 directory file HD2024 (provisional), and program prices for clock- and credit-hour institutions, 2023-24, file IC2023_PY), Human Resources derived variables (full-time-equivalent staff by occupational category, fall 2024, table DRVHR2024), Finance (expenses by function, 2023-24, tables F2324_F1A, F2324_F2 and F2324_F3) and 12-month Enrollment (full-time-equivalent students, 2023-24, table EFIA2024), all from the IPEDS 2024-25 complete data file. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the Department of Education has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Health insurance, home ownership and poverty for places: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Tables B27010, B25003, B17001, B14001, B08301 and B21001 (shares shown only when their margin of error is at most 7 percentage points). The Census Bureau has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Poverty rate by education, fields of bachelor’s degrees and new arrivals with a bachelor’s degree or higher (state, county and metropolitan-area pages; metro pages also show the share with a bachelor’s degree and median earnings by education from Tables B15003 and B20004, added October 4, 2026): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, Tables B14001 (residents enrolled in college or graduate school), B15001 (educational attainment of adults 25 to 34), B17003 (poverty status by educational attainment, adults 25 and over), C15010 (field of bachelor’s degree for first major, adults 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree) and B07009 (adults 25 and over who lived in a different state or abroad one year earlier, by education; margins of error at the 90% level; shown only when the margin is at most 8 points). The Census Bureau has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Other sources (records added October 5, 2026): college cost trends, U.S. Department of Education, College Affordability and Transparency Center (tuition and net price; MajorPays selected and reorganized the figures and the Department has not approved or endorsed this presentation); the list of STEM designated degree programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (the site marks fields that are on the list and gives no immigration or legal advice); the CIP to SOC crosswalk linking fields of study to occupations, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics; and the state outlines on the States map, U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundaries packaged by us-atlas (ISC license, Copyright 2013-2019 Michael Bostock).

People ages 18 to 24 (state and county pages, added October 5, 2026): U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025 county population by age (July 1, 2025 and July 1, 2020; estimates are revised). The Census Bureau has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Economic output and personal income per person (state pages) and county GDP (county pages), added October 5, 2026: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP by state (current-dollar GDP by industry and real GDP, 2025; MajorPays calculated industry shares). BEA has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

What jobs require (page added October 6, 2026): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey, 2023 estimates (the share of jobs requiring each level of education, a license, certification or certificate, prior work experience and on-the-job training, and average shares of the day sitting and standing, outdoors exposure and heavy strength). The 2023 estimates combine samples collected from September 2018 to July 2023 and are survey estimates with sampling error; ranges BLS publishes instead of a single figure are shown as a dash. BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Jobs and pay by county (county pages, added October 5, 2026): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025 annual averages: jobs covered by unemployment insurance, employers and average pay; jobs are counted where they are located; revised). BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Price levels (state and metro pages, added October 5, 2026): U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities (2024; all items and housing, U.S. = 100; revised). BEA has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Metropolitan-area unemployment (metro pages, added October 5, 2026): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (2025 annual average unemployment rate and labor force, not seasonally adjusted; model-based and revised). BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Jobs by industry (state pages, added October 5, 2026): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (state employment by industry group, not seasonally adjusted, August 2026 and the change from a year earlier; preliminary and revised). BLS has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Monthly pay by education (state pages, added October 4, 2026): U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (public-use files, private ownership, average monthly earnings of workers 25 and over in stable jobs by education and industry sector, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3; Alaska and Michigan are not shown because their files are not current). The Census Bureau has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Career pages, employer benefits: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey, Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2026 (access to retirement, medical care and paid leave for civilian workers, by broad occupational group). These are group figures, not specific to one occupation. MajorPays selected and reorganized them; the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Does your major pay off? pages, do graduates work in their field: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, 2023 (Table 1-3: relationship of highest degree to job, bachelor's and master's levels; Table 3-2: job satisfaction by occupation, shown on the job satisfaction page with percentages calculated by MajorPays). Survey estimates for broad groups of degree fields, rounded by NSF. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; the National Science Foundation has not approved or endorsed this presentation.

Injury and illness rates: Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, biennial characteristics data for 2023-2024, by occupation (262 careers have their own occupation's figures, 704 use the closest broader BLS group).

Union membership: Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages (tables 42 and 43), by broad occupation group.

What workers studied: Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2024 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample. The percentages and medians are MajorPays' own estimates from the microdata (what workers studied; pay by education level and field, full-time year-round employees ages 25 to 64, 2024 dollars; industries that employ each occupation).