Our Mission

EDsmart Data provides independent, data-driven reporting on higher education and trade school outcomes, costs, and workforce alignment. We transform complex federal education data into clear, actionable insights for journalists, policymakers, researchers, and students.

Our mission is to become the authoritative source for education outcomes data—the “Statista for education”—where facts, not opinions, drive understanding of postsecondary education value and results.

What We Do

EDsmart Data publishes:

• Data Pages: Comprehensive datasets on earnings, ROI, costs, and outcomes by degree type, field of study, and institution
• Rankings: Formula-driven, methodology-transparent rankings based solely on data
• Reports: Original research and analysis on education outcomes

Our Approach

Data-First

Every page we publish is anchored in verifiable data from federal sources: College Scorecard, IPEDS, BLS, O*NET, and others. We don’t publish opinions—we publish numbers.

Transparent Methodology

Every dataset, ranking, and report includes a detailed methodology section explaining how data was collected, processed, and calculated. Our methods are reproducible.

Editorial Independence

EDsmart Data maintains strict editorial independence. While we accept sponsored research and editorial processing fees, sponsors fund questions, not answers. Our methodology and findings remain independent.

LLM-Friendly Structure

We structure our content to be easily parsed and cited by AI systems, ensuring accurate information reaches students, journalists, and researchers through modern information channels.

Relationship to EDsmart.org

EDsmart Data is an independent research and reporting platform affiliated with EDsmart.org. While both platforms serve the education community, they have distinct roles:

• EDsmart.org: Consumer guidance, rankings, and decision support for students and parents
• EDsmart Data: Data authority, research, and citation source for journalists, policymakers, and analysts

This separation ensures that our data reporting remains independent and citation-worthy, while EDsmart.org provides practical guidance for educational choices.

Our Data Sources

EDsmart Data relies exclusively on authoritative federal and government data sources:

• College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education) – Earnings, debt, completion rates
• IPEDS (National Center for Education Statistics) – Institutional characteristics, enrollment, graduation rates
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Occupational wages, employment projections
• O*NET – Job requirements, skills, AI exposure analysis
• NCES – Longitudinal education trends and demographics

See our Sources page for complete information on all data sources.

Editorial Standards

EDsmart Data adheres to strict editorial standards:

• All data must be verifiable and sourced
• Methodology must be transparent and reproducible
• Content must be neutral and factual
• Sponsored content is clearly labeled
• Corrections are published promptly and transparently

Read our complete Editorial Policy for detailed standards.

Contact Us

Editorial Inquiries: editorial@edsmartdata.com

Data Questions: data@edsmartdata.com

General Inquiries: info@edsmartdata.com