Our Data Sources
Every number on this site – wages, job outlook, tuition, graduation rates, earnings, licensing, and apprenticeships – comes from primary U.S. government data. We never estimate or invent statistics. Below is exactly which dataset we use for each, and the release year currently in use.
| Data | Provider | Vintage |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | May 2025 |
| Employment Projections | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | 2024-2034 |
| Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System | National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS) | 2024 |
| College Scorecard (school-level outcomes) | U.S. Department of Education | latest release |
| College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings) | U.S. Department of Education | latest release (updated 2026-06-12) |
| Occupational licensing requirements | CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) | latest release (updated 2026-02-22) |
| Registered apprenticeship programs | CareerOneStop / Apprenticeship.gov (U.S. Department of Labor) | latest release (updated 2025-10-25) |
| CPI inflation & JOLTS labor turnover | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | latest release (updated 2026-06-14) |
| Fair Market Rents (rent by county/metro) | U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development | FY2025 (updated 2026-06-14) |
| O*NET occupation profiles (skills, tasks, tools, job zones) | U.S. Department of Labor (O*NET / Employment & Training Admin.) | O*NET 29.1 (updated 2026-06-13) |
How to read these
- BLS OEWS powers all salary figures (median, percentiles, by state and metro).
- BLS Employment Projections powers job-growth and openings figures.
- IPEDS (NCES) is our directory of schools – locations, programs, tuition, and distance-education availability.
- College Scorecard (school-level) powers the graduation, retention, earnings, and net-price inputs to our BOC Score rankings; the field-of-study release powers program earnings and debt.
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) powers state licensing requirements and registered-apprenticeship contacts.
Each data widget on the site also shows its specific source inline. Vintages refresh automatically when the agencies publish new releases.