Editorial & Corrections Policy

How Pages Are Produced

PlainCompare's metro, state, ranking and comparison pages are generated from published federal datasets: BEA Regional Price Parities (cost of living), HUD Fair Market Rents (rent), the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting program (crime), BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (wages), NCES (schools), the U.S. Department of Labor (childcare), and the EPA (environment). We download each source directly from the agency, load it into a structured database, and render every page from that database. The numbers you see are computed from the agencies' figures, never hand-typed and never estimated by us.

This is a data-publishing model: the same template renders hundreds of metro and state pages so that every place is covered consistently and by the identical method. We are transparent that these data pages are produced programmatically rather than written one at a time. The editorial work goes into the pipeline, how data is sourced, normalized, joined, scored and ranked, into the methodology, and into the written guides; not into hand-authoring near-identical place pages, which would add no accuracy and invite inconsistency.

The Life Score and Its Grades

Each place's Life Score is a weighted blend of seven dimensions, each first converted to a national percentile rank (so 50 is the national median). Because it averages percentile ranks, the composite naturally centers near 50 and rarely exceeds the low 70s, a place can lead on cost or wages but almost never on all seven at once, since the dimensions trade off. For that reason the letter grade is relative, not absolute: an A means a place ranks near the top of all US metros (or states), graded on a national curve, the way a percentile ranking works, not that it clears a fixed academic threshold. Every place page states its national rank and the share of places it outranks so the grade can be read in context.

Sourcing Standards

• Primary sources only. Every dimension traces to a named federal dataset, documented in our methodology.
• Attribution in context. Each page names its data sources and links to the methodology that explains how the scores and rankings are built.
• Derived values are labeled. Figures we compute ourselves, percentile scores, the composite Life Score, rankings, and curved grades, are presented as our analysis of federal data, distinct from the agencies' published figures.
• No invented data. Where a value is unavailable for a place, the page says so rather than filling the gap with an estimate.

Update Cadence

Most source agencies publish once per year, and some figures lag reality by a year or two (BEA RPP typically lags 1–2 years; FBI crime data by about a year). When an agency releases new annual data we refresh our database and recompute the scores and rankings, then rebuild the affected pages. Between releases the figures are stable because the source itself does not change. The reference period for each dimension is documented in the methodology.

Corrections Process

If a figure on PlainCompare looks wrong, please tell us. Because our pages are generated from federal datasets, a genuine error almost always traces back to either the source data or our processing of it, so this is how we handle a report:

1. Report. Email corrections@plaincompare.com or use the contact page with the page URL and the number that looks off.
2. Verify. We compare the figure against the agency's published data for that place and year.
3. Fix at the source. If the value is wrong on our side, we correct it in the database and pipeline that generate the page, not just on one page, so every affected place is fixed at once. If the figure faithfully reflects the source, we explain that and, where useful, add context.
4. Note it. Material corrections are reflected the next time the page rebuilds, with the data reference period shown so you can see which release a page is based on.

We aim to acknowledge data-error reports within a few business days.

Editorial Independence

PlainCompare is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with any of the source agencies or with any city, county, or state government. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement to cover a place or to move it up a ranking. Our only revenue is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense; advertisers do not influence which places we cover or how we present data. Rankings are computed mechanically from federal figures, so no place can pay its way up a list.

Appropriate Use

PlainCompare is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, relocation, legal, or safety advice. The scores summarize federal data at the metro or state level and cannot capture neighborhood-level differences, crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro. For a decision about where to move or live, confirm current figures with primary sources and professionals familiar with the specific area. See our full appropriate-use disclaimer.