About PlainCompare
Our Mission
We believe the most important life decisions deserve better data. When you are deciding where to live, work, or raise a family, you should not have to rely on subjective "best of" lists, real estate marketing, or anecdotal advice. PlainCompare exists to put objective, verifiable government data directly in your hands.
Our mission is to make multi-dimensional metro and state comparison effortless. We combine data from seven federal agencies into a single, free platform that lets you evaluate any U.S. metro area across the dimensions that matter most: cost of living, safety, education, wages, healthcare, childcare, and environment.
PlainCompare is free, ad-supported, and independent. We have no affiliation with real estate companies, moving services, chambers of commerce, or any organization that profits from relocation decisions. The data speaks for itself — we present it clearly and let you draw your own conclusions.
Our Data Sources
Every data point on PlainCompare traces back to an official U.S. government source. We use seven distinct federal datasets, each providing a different dimension of metro-area livability:
- Cost of Living — Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities measure how prices for goods, services, and housing compare across metros, with 100 representing the national average.
- Rent — Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents for studio through 4-bedroom units, reflecting the 40th percentile rent for standard-quality housing.
- Crime — FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data on violent-incident and property safety statistics per 100,000 residents at the metropolitan statistical area level.
- Wages — Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics providing median and percentile wages for 800+ occupations by metro.
- Schools — National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data on school enrollment, student-teacher ratios, Title I status, and charter school presence.
- Childcare — Department of Labor (DOL) National Database of Childcare Prices with median costs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers by metro.
- Environment — Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on regulated facilities, water systems, Superfund sites, and air quality indicators.
Additionally, we incorporate Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data for population demographics, housing statistics, and educational attainment; and CDC PLACES data for community health indicators including chronic disease prevalence and healthcare access.
How We Process the Data
Our data pipeline begins by downloading raw datasets from each federal agency. These arrive in different formats and use different geographic identifiers. The first step is harmonizing all sources at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level — the Census Bureau's definition of functional economic regions built around urban cores of 50,000+ population.
Each metro receives a percentile score from 0 to 100 on every dimension, calculated from its rank within the full dataset. Higher percentiles are always better — for crime, lower safety statistics earn higher scores. For wages, higher wages earn higher scores. This normalization allows direct comparison across dimensions with completely different units.
The comparison engine performs real-time multi-dimensional scoring. When you select two or more metros, PlainCompare calculates the difference on every dimension, identifies the strongest advantages for each side, and presents a data-driven summary. Our metro scores combine all dimensions into a composite that you can explore interactively.
For state-level comparisons, we aggregate metro data within each state, weight by population, and supplement with state-level data from BLS, FBI, and Census sources that may not be available at the MSA level.
All processing is automated and reproducible. When new data is released by any agency, we re-run the full pipeline to ensure consistency across all metro scores. No manual adjustments or editorial overrides are applied to the data — what you see is what the federal sources report, normalized to enable fair comparison.
For a detailed explanation of how to interpret the scoring system and avoid common comparison pitfalls, read our guide to understanding metro scores.
Data Currency
Federal data is not real-time. Each agency operates on its own publication cycle with inherent lags between data collection and release. Understanding the vintage of each source is important for accurate interpretation, especially in rapidly changing markets.
- BEA Regional Price Parities: 2022 release (published December 2023). Updated annually; we refresh within 30 days of each new release.
- HUD Fair Market Rents: FY2025 (published September 2024). Updated annually each October for the following fiscal year.
- FBI Uniform Reporting program Crime Data: 2022 data (released October 2023). Crime data has the longest publication lag, typically 10-18 months.
- BLS OEWS Wages: May 2023 estimates (published April 2024). Updated annually with approximately 12-month lag.
- NCES Education Data: 2022-23 school year (published August 2024). Updated annually.
- DOL Childcare Prices: 2023 estimates (published 2024). Updated as new surveys are completed.
- EPA Environmental Data: Rolling data refreshed quarterly from ECHO database.
- Census ACS: 2022 5-year estimates (published December 2023). Rolling 5-year average updated annually.
- CDC PLACES: 2023 release (published 2024). Updated annually.
We monitor all sources for new releases and update our database within 30 days of publication. Data vintage is noted on individual metro and state pages.
Editorial Independence
Content on PlainCompare is compiled by our editorial team. Raw data from public government datasets is transformed into readable profiles by our continuous editorial pipeline, validated against the source before publication. The PlainCompare editorial team, operating under Kiznis Studio, is responsible for editorial standards, methodology, and corrections.
We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense — advertisers do not influence which entities we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.
Limitations and Disclaimers
Government data provides the most objective foundation for geographic comparison, but it has real limitations:
- Metro-level granularity: Most data is available at the MSA level only. Conditions vary significantly within a metro area — suburban areas may differ from urban cores on cost, safety, and schools.
- Publication lag: Federal data lags current conditions by 12-24 months. Rapidly changing markets (housing booms, economic downturns) may not be fully reflected.
- Crime reporting gaps: FBI Uniform Reporting program data depends on voluntary agency reporting. The transition from UCR to NIBRS has created inconsistencies in some jurisdictions.
- Qualitative factors: No dataset captures culture, community character, climate preference, proximity to family, or career-specific networking opportunities. Data narrows the field; personal experience and values determine the final choice.
- Composite scores are simplifications: Any single number that summarizes a metro across 7+ dimensions is inherently reductive. Use composite scores for initial screening, then drill into individual dimensions that matter most to your situation.
PlainCompare is for informational purposes only. All data comes from official U.S. government sources and is presented as-is for research and comparison purposes. This tool does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. Always verify critical information with primary sources before making major life decisions.
We strongly recommend using PlainCompare for initial screening and shortlisting, then conducting in-person visits and local research for your top candidates. The best relocation decisions combine data-driven analysis with personal experience and community evaluation.
Contact
Questions, data corrections, or feedback? Email hello@plaincompare.com. We investigate reported data issues within 48 hours.
If you spot a metric that seems incorrect for a specific metro, please include the metro name, the dimension in question, and if possible the source you are comparing against. Community feedback helps us maintain accuracy across 384 metro areas and 50 states.
PlainCompare is part of the " network of public data portals. Our sister sites include PlainRelocate (relocation comparison tool), WageDex (occupation wage data), PlainCost (cost of living), PlainRent (rental data), and PlainCrime (crime statistics).