What each kind of page covers
- State pages: earnings by education, jobs by industry, economic output, personal income, college costs and the colleges in the state.
- County pages: pay by education, rent, jobs, health-care access, college-age population and enrollment.
- City and town pages and ZIP code pages: pay by education, rent and income for smaller areas.
- Metro area pages: wages by occupation, unemployment and price levels for metropolitan areas.
Where the numbers come from
Pay by education, rent, age, income and school enrollment come from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Wages by occupation and unemployment come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economic output, personal income and price levels come from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Every page lists its sources, and the data sources page gives the full list with the terms of use.
Estimates have margins of error
The American Community Survey asks a sample of households, so each figure is an estimate with a margin of error. The smaller the area, the larger the margin. MajorPays shows margins where they matter and hides a number when its margin is too large to mean much. Differences of a few percent between two small areas are usually within the margin.
Why there are no rankings
Places differ in size, age, cost of living and mix of industries, so one number cannot say which is better. Lists are alphabetical or numerical and can be sorted by the reader. The compare places tool lets you put places side by side.