AreaProfile Research
Original analysis produced from AreaProfile’s own normalized database. Every figure in every report is recalculated from the same measurements the profiles use, not from figures typed in by hand.
New here? Reading the numbers explains what each measure can and cannot tell you before you rely on one.
Where Newcomers Out-Earn Those Who Leave
Tax returns show who moves in and who moves out of each county, and in some large counties the two groups earn very differently.
Data as of IRS county migration, filing years 2022–2023What Each Limit Does to a Search for Where to Live
Counted with the Place Finder’s own rules, some limits barely dent the map and some remove most of it. One, violent crime, cannot be applied to nearly a third of cities.
Data as of Current published figures: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026, NOAA 1991–2020 normals, FEMA National Risk Index, FBI reported crime, 2018–19 school assessmentsWhere a City’s Labor Data Is Really Its County’s
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes labor figures for cities of 25,000 or more. For smaller places, and for some larger ones the Bureau does not report separately, the only figure available is the county’s. Here is how often a profile shows one.
Data as of Latest BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics on fileHow Much of a City Income Ranking Is Noise?
Rank large US cities by median household income and almost every neighbor in the list turns out to be a statistical tie. What the survey can tell apart is far coarser than the ranking implies.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-YearPlaces That Don’t Have to Trade One Thing for Another
Strong job markets and affordable housing are close to independent of each other nationally, so nothing makes them go together. Here is how many cities clear a high bar on both at once, with good schools besides, and which ones do it best.
Data as of Current AreaProfile signal calculation, v1Cities That Don’t Look Like the Rest of Their State
Most cities cluster reasonably close to their own state’s average on income, rent burden, unemployment and school proficiency. These sit far enough outside it that "the state average" stops describing them at all.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-Year, current BLS LAUS, 2018–19 EDFactsWhere a Paycheck Actually Goes Furthest
The highest salaries are concentrated in the most expensive places. Adjusting income for what things cost there reorders the list substantially.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-Year income with 2023 BEA regional price paritiesWhere Reported Crime and Lethal Violence Tell Different Stories
Two measures of the same thing, collected in completely different ways. Where a place stands high on one and low on the other, the gap is worth looking at — not because one figure is wrong, but because they are counting different things.
Data as of FBI reported offenses for the latest complete year, CDC deaths for the trailing twelve monthsThe Cities Whose Schools Outperform Their Income
School ratings and household affluence track each other so closely that most rankings mostly measure income. Isolating what income does not explain produces a different list.
Data as of 2024 NCES Common Core of Data directory with 2018–19 EDFacts assessmentsWhere US Populations Are Growing Fastest
Annual estimates, not survey averages — the measure actually built for year-over-year comparison.
Data as of Census Population Estimates, vintage 2024Where Housing Costs Least Against Local Pay
A cheap house in a low-wage market is not affordable. These are the cities where housing costs least relative to what people there actually earn.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-YearThe Suburbs That Outscore the City They Surround
Metropolitan areas are not uniform. In many, a suburb measures better than the principal city on the same standardized scale — and in some it measures worse.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-Year with current labor and permit releasesThe ZIP Codes That Diverge Most From Their Own City
City-level median income hides a lot. These ZIP areas sit furthest from the city they belong to.
Data as of 2024 ACS 5-YearWhich Major US Cities Experience the Most Extreme Summer Heat?
Normal July highs across published city profiles, from thirty years of NOAA observations.
Data as of 1991–2020 NOAA climate normalsOpportunity vs Risk: Where the Tradeoff Looks Best
Every relocation is a trade. Here is what the two dimensions look like plotted against each other across published city profiles.
Data as of FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 and the latest BLS releaseGrowing Cities With Low Physical-Risk Exposure
Growth and hazard exposure are close to independent across large cities, so many of them manage both. These are the ones with the strongest showing on the two together.
Data as of FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 and the latest Census permit releaseThe Large Metros With the Strongest Employment Momentum
Unemployment tells you where a labor market is. Employment change tells you where it is going.
Data as of July 2026Where US Building Activity Is Accelerating Fastest
Residential permitting is not slowing everywhere. These cities authorized substantially more housing over the past twelve months than the twelve before.
Data as of 12 months ending July 2026