USAFacts Editorial Guidelines

Unbiased

Most government data is collected by career agency statisticians who work independently of any presidential administration. We believe that this data is the most reliable, nonpartisan source for critical civic discussions, unlike information from think tanks or universities, which may carry viewpoints.

We encourage Americans to judge the country’s direction for themselves. We don’t propose policies in our reports. We don’t answer to a board, political group, or other stakeholders. As a not-for-profit organization, we have no agenda other than improving debates — and, by extension, American democracy — with government facts that every American deserves to have.

Accurate

We update reports, articles, and data visualizations if governments release new information. We update human errors in text or charts and correct factual inaccuracies. If you see an error anywhere on our site, please report it to [email protected].

Understandable

We gather metrics from government sources and standardize them so they’re easy to grasp. That means approachable articles, detailed reports, and clear, vibrant visualizations illustrating the data.

Comprehensive

We offer a complete view of government impact and finances, from the federal level to the county where you live. We’re always collecting and adding metrics from the nation’s more than 90,000 government entities.

Contextual

We use government data from federal, state, and local agencies and departments at all levels to illustrate the big picture in one place. Our reports include historical context — such as comparisons to prior years, or inflation-adjusted dollars — and bold, simple graphs to visualize changes over time.

We want readers to see themselves in the data to better understand how government affects them. To achieve this, we parse data by characteristics such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, and geography when available and relevant.

Transparent

We are open about our data sources and methods. We cite sources for our visualizations, articles, and reports and note if we have made any changes, such as adjusting for inflation or population.

We also use artificial intelligence, specifically Open AI, to write some text on our site. All text, charts, and other content are thoroughly fact-checked by researchers, statisticians, and data analysts to ensure accuracy and approachability.