Data Sources & Attribution

College Decoded combines data from trusted federal sources to give you accurate, comprehensive information about colleges and careers. All data is regularly updated from official sources.

College Scorecard

U.S. Department of Education

Comprehensive data on costs, graduation rates, student debt, and post-college earnings for every accredited institution in the United States.

Used for:
Tuition & costsGraduation ratesMedian earningsStudent debtAdmission ratesNet price by income
License:
Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Data provided by the U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.
Visit College Scorecard

IPEDS

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System — the primary federal source for data on colleges and universities in the United States.

Used for:
Enrollment figuresCampus demographicsInstitutional characteristicsFaculty ratiosAthletic programsRoom & board costs
License:
Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).
Visit IPEDS

O*NET® Database

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA)

The nation's primary source of occupational information — skills, abilities, knowledge, work activities, and interests for over 1,000 occupations.

Used for:
Career descriptionsRequired skills & abilitiesEducation requirementsWork activitiesCareer interests (RIASEC)Related occupations
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This site includes information from the O*NET® 30.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. College Decoded has modified some of this information.
Visit O*NET® Database

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

U.S. Department of Labor

Employment projections, wage data, and occupational outlook for careers across the U.S. economy.

Used for:
Median salariesEmployment projectionsJob growth ratesIndustry employment data
License:
Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Visit Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

CareerOneStop

U.S. Department of Labor

Career exploration, training, and job resources sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Used for:
Career pathwaysCertification requirementsTraining programs
License:
U.S. Government Sponsored
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
Visit CareerOneStop

DB-IP City Lite

DB-IP

IP-to-geolocation database used to detect anomalous sign-ins (e.g. impossible travel, unfamiliar country) for account-security alerting. Geolocation is computed server-side and never stored alongside identifiable user data beyond the security-event log.

Used for:
Risk-based authenticationSuspicious sign-in alertsCountry-mismatch detection
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
IP geolocation by DB-IP (https://db-ip.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Visit DB-IP City Lite

Additional Notes

  • Campus photos are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses, with individual photo attributions displayed where applicable.
  • Maps are powered by Mapbox. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
  • SAT and ACT are registered trademarks of the College Board and ACT, Inc., respectively. College Decoded is not affiliated with or endorsed by either organization.
  • College rankings referenced from U.S. News & World Report and Forbes are the intellectual property of their respective publishers.
  • Data is updated regularly but may not reflect the most recent changes. Always verify critical information directly with the institution.

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