U.S. City Research Blog
Original Census data analysis on U.S. city housing, rent burden, population growth, working from home, commuting and demographics, with interactive comparisons.
Explore the questions behind a moving shortlist: what low rent leaves out, how city growth is measured, where residents work from home and what household statistics describe. These articles use our retained Census place data to make original comparisons. Each includes source definitions, uncertainty, selected city observations and an interactive data explorer with downloadable results.
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Rent Burden in U.S. Cities: What the Median Rent Leaves Out
Explore the shares of renter units spending 30% or 50% of income on housing. Original city analysis explains denominators, missing ratios and survey uncertainty.
· US Cities Info
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Why City Boundaries Change Population and Density Comparisons
Compare U.S. city population, land area and density using Census data. Learn why municipal boundaries and metropolitan areas can produce different comparisons.
· US Cities Info
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Median Age, Living Alone and Households with Children: Three Views of a City
Explore city median age, households with children and people living alone. Census data show why these measures describe different aspects of local demographics.
· US Cities Info
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Commuting Without a Car: What U.S. City Census Data Can Tell You
Compare city transit, walking and cycling commute shares with households without vehicles. Explore Census data and the limits of citywide accessibility measures.
· US Cities Info
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Low Home Values vs. Monthly Owner Costs: Two Different Housing Questions
Compare median home values with homeowner costs for mortgaged and mortgage-free units. Census city data reveal why a low value does not define a monthly budget.
· US Cities Info
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Where U.S. Residents Work from Home—and What the Data Actually Measure
Explore where resident workers report working from home. Compare Census worker shares with rent and home values, without confusing them with remote job openings.
· US Cities Info
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Fastest-Growing Cities: Percentage Growth vs. Residents Added
Celina leads percentage growth while Charlotte adds the most residents under our 20,000-person cutoff. Explore how growth measures change a city comparison.
· US Cities Info
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Low Rent Is Only Half the Story: Comparing Rent and Income in U.S. Cities
Compare rent, household income and renter burden in U.S. cities. Original Census analysis shows why lower median rent does not always mean easier housing costs.
· US Cities Info
City statistics for moving and local research
The articles compare administrative places rather than substituting metro or county totals. Population comes from Census PEP Vintage 2025, with July 2025 estimates and a consistent revised time series. Housing, income, household and commute measures use the ACS 2020–2024 five-year window. A source’s reference period is separate from the article date.
The analysis does not create best-city scores or claim that a citywide statistic describes an individual neighborhood. Original tables remain available on the city profiles, alongside source records and 90% margins of error. Use city comparisons for a shortlist, statistical rankings for a defined national ordering, and the methodology to assess calculations.
Subscribe to the article RSS feed or submit a source-backed correction. Data downloads preserve source geography, units and reference dates for students, journalists and researchers reusing a finding.