Newsroom
For journalists, researchers, and writers. Who produces our findings, how to check them, what we've gotten wrong, and how to reach us.
Media contact
hello@americadashboard.comInterview requests, methodology questions, state or city breakouts, and error reports.
Who produces this
America's Dashboard, built by Roket Software
Independent. Not affiliated with any government agency, and we take no payment from states, economic development agencies, or real estate companies. About us.
How to verify a finding
Every page names its sources. The methodology documents category weights and formulas. Known gaps are listed below, not buried.
Recent releases
- StudyDaycare for Two Kids Costs More Than the Mortgage in 33 States
Two kids in center-based infant care compared with the mortgage and property tax on each state's median home, with shareable map and chart graphics.
- DataCensus ACS people flows added to migration pages
Census Bureau state-to-state migration estimates, with margins of error, now sit beside the IRS household counts as a cross-check.
- RankingsEducation rankings rebuilt
A dedicated education page with graduation rates, per-pupil spending and students per teacher, a filterable 50-state table, and the best cities for public schools.
- RankingsOverall rankings page redesigned
Top and bottom five, per-category summaries, and a sortable 50-state table that works on phones.
- DataMigration flows now read directly from IRS files
State-to-state moves, households, and mover income come straight from the IRS Statistics of Income migration files, with no modeling.
- ToolCustom map builder
Pick any metric, style a 50-state map, export a PNG, or embed a live version.
Corrections log
Errors that affected published numbers, labels, or pages, newest first. If you cited one of these pages before the fix date, the figure may have changed.
Was wrong: The footer said the site used 8 scoring categories and 17 data sources.
Fixed: Corrected to 11 categories. Since Sept. 17 the source count is calculated from the source list itself, so it can't go out of date.
Was wrong: State-to-state migration flows came from a population-weighted gravity model, not from published records.
Fixed: Flows are now read as published from the IRS Statistics of Income files. Totals reproduce the IRS domestic figures. The earlier modeled numbers are archived internally.
Was wrong: Career pages credited metro-level wages to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Only the national medians come from that survey.
Fixed: Pages now say that metro wages and employment are modeled estimates. See known limitations below.
Was wrong: For custom incomes outside the preset tiers, income tax was subtracted twice, producing a jump of about $8,500 at the tier boundaries.
Fixed: Take-home now reconciles at every income: income minus total costs equals the net shown. An automated test checks every $1 step from $20K to $250K for jumps.
Was wrong: The comparison picker allowed any two states, but only about 200 pairs had pages, so 84% of selections returned a 404.
Fixed: All 1,225 state pairs now have pages.
Was wrong: State safety scores counted violent crime only, while city safety scores also counted property crime.
Fixed: State scores now include property crime, and the safety rankings table shows it.
Was wrong: Cities were graded within their own state, so every state had exactly two A+ cities regardless of how they compared nationally.
Fixed: All 1,000 cities are now graded against each other.
| Fixed | Area | What was wrong | What we did |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site footer | The footer said the site used 8 scoring categories and 17 data sources. | Corrected to 11 categories. Since Sept. 17 the source count is calculated from the source list itself, so it can't go out of date. | |
| Migration flows | State-to-state migration flows came from a population-weighted gravity model, not from published records. | Flows are now read as published from the IRS Statistics of Income files. Totals reproduce the IRS domestic figures. The earlier modeled numbers are archived internally. | |
| Career wages | Career pages credited metro-level wages to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. Only the national medians come from that survey. | Pages now say that metro wages and employment are modeled estimates. See known limitations below. | |
| Affordability calculator | For custom incomes outside the preset tiers, income tax was subtracted twice, producing a jump of about $8,500 at the tier boundaries. | Take-home now reconciles at every income: income minus total costs equals the net shown. An automated test checks every $1 step from $20K to $250K for jumps. | |
| State comparisons | The comparison picker allowed any two states, but only about 200 pairs had pages, so 84% of selections returned a 404. | All 1,225 state pairs now have pages. | |
| Safety rankings | State safety scores counted violent crime only, while city safety scores also counted property crime. | State scores now include property crime, and the safety rankings table shows it. | |
| City grades | Cities were graded within their own state, so every state had exactly two A+ cities regardless of how they compared nationally. | All 1,000 cities are now graded against each other. |
Known limitations
Open issues you should know about before citing these sections. When one is fixed, it moves to the corrections log.
National median wages are BLS figures. Metro-level wages and employment are modeled from them, not taken from the published BLS metro tables.
Planned fix: Replace with the published BLS metro tables, showing suppressed cells as suppressed.
The 12-month trend charts on state pages are illustrative and labeled that way. They are not a historical record of the score.
Planned fix: Remove them until enough archived data releases exist to chart real history.
City Environment and Outdoor Access scores use the statewide value because no city-level source is in use yet.
Planned fix: Label each city score as measured locally or inherited from the state.
State composite scores are stretched onto a wider 0–100 range after weighting, and city composites are not. A city scoring 70 and a state scoring 70 are not directly comparable.
Planned fix: Publish the exact rescaling on the methodology page and put both on a consistent scale.
Citing & reuse
Cite America's Dashboard and link to the specific page you drew from, not the homepage. Where a figure comes from a government source, naming that source too helps readers check it.
Suggested citation
America's Dashboard, “[Page title],” americadashboard.com/[page], accessed [date].
- Linking to any page is always fine.
- Charts, maps, screenshots, and short excerpts may be used in news coverage, research, and commentary with visible credit to America's Dashboard and a link to the source page.
- Scraping or bulk downloading requires written permission. See the terms of service.
- Rankings update when agencies publish new data. Note your access date, and check the corrections log above if a number has changed.
Charts & maps you can use
Custom map builder
Map any metric across 50 states. Export a PNG or copy embed code.
Daycare vs. mortgage graphics
Map and charts with a built-in dollar table and sources, ready to download as images.
Methodology
Category weights, normalization, grading, and the source for every metric.
Downloadable CSVs aren't published yet. If you need the numbers behind a chart, email hello@americadashboard.com.