About & Data Sources

This site aggregates public-domain data to help people compare US cities when relocating. All figures are estimates and should be verified before making financial decisions.

Our editorial mission

RelocateFacts exists to make the financial reality of moving legible before you sign a lease or a mortgage. Relocation decisions get made on vibes and secondhand anecdotes far too often — we publish the underlying numbers (government data where it exists, clearly labeled estimates where it doesn't) so readers can check their own math instead of taking a listicle's word for it.

Research & data verification methodology

Every figure on this site traces back to a named public dataset below. Census ACS, FEMA, FHFA, and HUD data are ingested on a schedule, normalized to a consistent per-city record, and merged with a persistent enrichment overlay so a given city's figures don't silently regress between refreshes. Pages are served with daily revalidation, so a data refresh reaches every page within 24 hours without a full redeploy.

• US Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year: population, income, home values, and rent. Public domain.
• FEMA National Risk Index: county-level natural-hazard risk rating, shown on each city page. Public domain.
• Walk Score API: walkability, transit, and bike scores, shown on each city page when available.
• FBI Crime Data Explorer: county-level violent crime rate, shown on each city page when available. Public domain.
• FHFA House Price Index: county-level year-over-year home price change, shown on each city page when available. Public domain.
• HUD Fair Market Rents: county-level 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, shown on each city page when available. Public domain.
• Zillow Neighborhood Boundaries (via EPA re-host): real neighborhood names for top-20-by-population cities. Creative Commons, attribution to Zillow required — neighborhood names and boundaries are informal and not official geographic or jurisdictional designations.

Data is refreshed on a schedule; each city page shows its own “last updated” date. We are not affiliated with the US Census Bureau or any government agency.

Data license and reuse

The underlying figures cited on this site are drawn from public U.S. government datasets, including the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey and FEMA National Risk Index, and remain subject to their applicable terms. Unless a page states otherwise, RelocateFacts’ original compilations, rankings, analysis, and presentation may be reused with attribution to RelocateFacts and a link to the original source page.

The neighborhood names shown on city neighborhood pages are a separate case: they come from Zillow’s Neighborhood Boundaries dataset (via EPA re-host) and are licensed Creative Commons BY-SA, not public domain. Reuse of that data requires attribution to Zillow specifically, not RelocateFacts, and any redistribution of it must carry the same share-alike license.

Editorial byline & review process

RelocateFacts' long-form guides are researched and written in-house, grounded first in this site's own government-sourced city and tax data, and secondarily in named public sources (for example, Tax Foundation state tax rankings or Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey rate) cited by name wherever a figure doesn't come from our own dataset. Every guide is reviewed by Tyris Walker, the site's operator, before publication, and carries a visible "Published" and "Updated" date so you can see how current it is.

Explore the data

Put this data to use:

• Browse all city profiles
• Read the rent-to-income ratio study
• See the most affordable U.S. cities ranking
• Read our relocation guides