About the Data

Every number on CityMetricsUSA comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, the same source used by researchers, journalists, and government agencies. We do not estimate, extrapolate, or purchase data from third parties.

Why 5-year estimates?

The Census Bureau publishes ACS data as 1-year estimates (large places only, more current) and 5-year estimates (every place, more statistically reliable). We use 5-year estimates so that small towns get the same coverage as major cities, at the cost of the data reflecting a 5-year window rather than a single year.

Margin of error

ACS is a sample survey, not a full count — every estimate carries a margin of error. For income, home value and rent, we display it directly as "± amount". A margin of error close to the estimate itself means the true value could differ substantially; this is most common for small towns and small population subgroups.

Why we only show cities with 1,000+ people

Below roughly 1,000 residents, ACS margins of error become large enough that most of our derived figures (rates, percentages) would be more misleading than useful. We would rather not publish a page than publish one with numbers nobody should rely on.

Update schedule

The Census Bureau releases a new 5-year ACS dataset once a year. We re-import shortly after each release.