Original research

Research

Original data research from the PlainCities editorial team. Every page is rendered live from the portal database — no number is hardcoded, and every figure is auditable to the source row.

5
Studies
Live
From the DB

What makes these studies original?

Each study runs a fresh query against the same federal datasets behind every city profile, then reads the result back as prose and charts. Because nothing is hand-typed, the numbers stay correct as the underlying Census, FBI and NOAA releases are reingested.

Highest-Rent Cities in America

Large US cities ranked by median gross rent, with the most affordable markets for contrast — live from Census ACS Table B25064.

Most Educated Cities in America

Large US cities ranked by the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher — live from Census ACS Table S1501.

Top 10 Largest US Cities by Population

PlainCities ranks the largest US cities by total population using US Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Rendered server-side from a live SELECT against the cities table.

Top 10 US Cities by Median Household Income

PlainCities ranks US cities by median household income from US Census Bureau American Community Survey data. Rendered server-side from a live SELECT against the cities table.

Top 10 US Cities by Recent Residential Building Permits

PlainCities ranks US cities by total residential building permits issued in 2024 using HUD Building Permits Survey data. Rendered server-side from a live SELECT against the cities table joined to the building_permits table.