Resources

For Changemakers & Policymakers

In order to craft good public policy or for community organizations to identify key metrics to improve their local economies, good data sources are necessary.  Below are some links to key public datasets.

  • American Fact Finder – American FactFinder is your source for population, housing, economic and geographic information.
  • Kidsdata.org – Find data about the health and well being of children in communities across California.  Discover statistics about your local schools and family health in your community. Consider them as key indicators of community economic well-being.
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics Wage Data – While mostly a source of “traditional” employment trends, the bureau’s trends can highlight interesting economic winds of change.
  • United States Census Bureau – Quickly and easily explore census data such as income, poverty, education, and literacy statistics.
  • Self-sufficiency Calculator for California Counties – Find out what it takes for individuals and families to survive in different parts of California.

For Job Seekers & Working-age Adults

Find out what you should be making, see how you compare to your peers and to national averages.

  • Paysa.com – Find what you’re worth with Paysa’s free Market Salary tool. Search for jobs suited to your skills. Paysa is your personalized career coach to help you excel.
  • PayScale.com – It is even easier to see what you’re worth in the job market with the PayScale Instant Salary Comparison Report. Just connect to PayScale with your LinkedIn account and we’ll give you an instant look at whether you’re being paid fairly.
  • Comparably.com – See what people like you get paid and how they rate their jobs. Comparably makes work better by making compensation and culture transparent.
  • CareerBuilder Insights Tool – Find average salaries, top paying locations and day-to-day responsibilities for hundreds of CareerBuilder’s most popular jobs.

Job Listing Aggregators

Unconventional job search engines or job listing aggregators are a good way to take the temperature of the health and income levels available in a local job market. Useful for matching areas to estimated living wage indexes:

Studies and Reports