The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January jobs report this week. 🔸Unemployment dropped 0.1 percentage points MoM to 4.3%. 🔸January saw an increase of 130,000 nonfarm jobs — 82K came from healthcare. Based on 2024 BLS projections, 12 of the fastest-growing jobs are related to healthcare.

On average, gas prices are down $0.23 from a year ago. The national average for regular gas is now $2.90 — with the Rocky Mountain region seeing the biggest dip YoY (-$0.35). Are you spending less at the pump this week? ⛽

Hot off the press! Our 2026 State of the Union in Numbers report is live — making sense of the how our nation is doing with just the data. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/4razHaF

Think you’ve got gold-medal curling energy? 🥌 In this week's Data Behind the News, we take a look at where the athlete's call home.

The results are in! 🎉 Ad Fontes Media just dropped its Media Bias Chart, and once again, we’re proud to land right in the top center of the partisan bias scale. Out of 4,400 news sources, we stand out as a trusted source of impartial information. Check it out for yourself! https://bit.ly/463cDSW

The torch is lit, and the winter games have begun!🔥 Which states have medaled in sending the most athletes to the Milano Cortina? 🥇Colorado: 31 🥈Minnesota: 25 🥉 California: 19

Adults raised in Minnesota are most likely to file a patent — giving us Spam, the implantable pacemaker, and Nerf balls. Growing up near other inventors makes a difference. Kids from the top 1% of household income are 6x more likely to become inventors than kids from middle-income families.

1 in 7 people speak Spanish at home — that’s 44.9M people. And over half say they speak English “very well.” Where you'll hear it most: 📍California (10.8M) 📍Texas (8.3M) 📍Florida (5.2M) Puerto Rico (not included in the national total) includes 3M more Spanish speakers.

Ever wondered where US troops are stationed and how many? In today's Ask an Analyst, dig into troop data with our analyst Lucia.

🏈 The Big Game 🍗 Chicken wings 📈 A dash of government data This week's Data Behind the News gives you some fun facts to share during the commercials.

Ahead of #WorldCancerDay, here are some facts to know: 🔹Over the last 25 years, cancer deaths have dropped 30% across all states. 🔹The rate of new cancer cases has dropped 8.1%. 🔹Kentucky topped the charts for new cases in 2022 and deaths in 2023.

More than half of all renters spent at least 30% of their income on housing. That’s the threshold the government uses to define “cost-burdened.” And the gap between renters and owners? It’s getting wider. In 2005, the difference in housing cost burden was 21 percentage points. Now it’s over 28.

In FY 2024, the federal government collected ~$5.07 trillion from states and their residents. With 38% coming from: CA (15.9%), TX (8.2%), NY (7.6%), and FL (6.4%). States that received the most funds compared to what they paid were: 📍 Virginia (+$89B) 📍 Alabama (+$45B) 📍 South Carolina (+$39B)

Following the two fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents, this week's Data Behind the News looks at the FBI data around use-of-force.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 8-year-olds jumped from 1.4% in 2012 to 3.2% in 2022. 📈 That’s more than double. Why? The CDC explains that improved diagnostic methods and increased clinical monitoring has led to more ASD diagnoses in kids.

Which cities have the highest crime rate? Memphis, TN is the city with the highest crime rate of 2,501 per 100,000 people — Oakland, CA comes in second with 1,925. It’s reversed for the highest property crime — Oakland, CA has the highest rate (7,230) with Memphis, TN (6,889) in the #2 spot.

Our analyst Chris dives into age trends over time and how it tells the story of the baby boom.

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans is 65 or older — the highest in the last 4.5 decades. Over the past decade: 🟢 The 65+ population grew by at least 20% in 49 states 🟢 In Alaska, it grew by 56.3% — the fastest in the country 🟢 Maine now has the oldest population, with 23.5% of residents over 65.

ICE has 212 active detention facilities — up 103 from FY 2024. More than 1 in 5 facilities are located in states along the US-Mexico border. The centers holding the most people: 📍 ERO El Paso Camp East Montana in TX (2,902 people) 📍 Adams County Correctional Center in MS (2,184 people)

In this week's Data Behind the News: Supreme Court cases on transgender athletes in girls sports.

How often has your state flipped between parties? In the last 10 presidential elections, 41 states stuck with candidates from the same party 8x or more. 20 of them, along with DC, voted for the same party's candidates in all 10 elections.

🚨 Core inflation remained at 2.6% in December with headline inflation staying consistent at 2.7%. Quick reminder: Headline inflation tracks items like food, housing, and transportation. Core Inflation ditches those volatile items to paint a broader picture of price trends.

Dirty sodas 🤝 marriage data

⛽ Gas prices are down from a year ago. The nationwide average price for regular gas is now $2.78/gallon (down $0.26), but prices still vary across the country. It's highest in the West Coast region — $0.87 higher than the national avg. What are you paying at the pump this week?

In this week's Data Behind the News: Oil imports, childhood vaccines, and unemployment.

This week, 15K nurses went on strike in NYC asking for more staffing, higher pay, and increased security. How common are strikes? There's been an average of 18.3 major work stoppages/yr in the last decade. In 2024, over 271K employees were involved in work stoppages — down 89% from 1970 with 2.5M.

Crime doesn’t look the same everywhere. In 2024, Alaska was the state with the highest violent crime rate in the US at 724.1 incidents per 100,000 residents. That's more than 7x Maine. Across the US, the rate was 359 violent crimes per 100,000 residents — a drop of 5.4% compared to 2023.

When are men getting married, you ask? In 2024, the median age for men getting married for the first time was 30.2 — up from 29.3 in 2014. And in 1956, it was 22.5. Utah and Arkansas are tied for youngest marriages (27.2). The oldest? Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire (32.4).

President Trump has called for a one-year cap of 10% on credit card interest rates. In 2024, the average person had $4.2K in credit card debt — a 20% increase from a recent low in 2021 ($3.5K). Of all household debt, the amount of credit card debt is below mortgage, auto, and student loan debt.

This week, the CDC reduced the recommended childhood vaccine list from 17 vaccinations to 11. Here’s the updated list 👇

Warning: these flu facts might spread fast.

Are Americans waiting longer to tie the knot?💍 In 2024, the median age for women getting married for the first time was 28.6 — up from 27 in 2014. And in 1956, it was 20.1. Women marry youngest in Utah — where the median age is just 25.2. At the oldest? DC with a median age of 32.3.

Secretary Kennedy released new dietary guidelines that include recommendations to consume more high fat dairy and meat. Per-person milk consumption has dropped 47% since 1975 — from 1.25 cups daily to 2/3 cup in 2022. Meanwhile cheese, yogurt, and butter have all seen an uptick in consumption.

In this week's Data Behind the News: Venezuela, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and New Year’s resolutions.

Our 2026 ins and outs.✍️ What's on your list?

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting voted to dissolve after losing over $1B in federal funding. 66.75% of its federal funding supported TV programming like PBS and 22.25% supported radio programming (think NPR). What do you think this means for local radio and TV stations nationwide?

When was the last federal government budget surplus? You might be surprised.

Run to grab an application. 📝 Here are the fastest growing jobs over the next decade.

The energy we’re bringing to 2026.

Our top nine posts of 2025 are in! 📊 Which one was your favorite?

❄️It's the most wonderful — and accident-prone — time of the year.

Lump of coal for you.

Core inflation (excluding food and energy) dropped to 2.6%, the lowest since early 2021. Headline inflation fell to 2.7%. The government shutdown disrupted data collection, so figures blend September and November with carried-forward October estimates.

2025 was the year of data – and we’ve got the numbers to prove it! Here are the articles you couldn't get enough of.

In this week's Data Behind the News: Flooding in Washington, expiring ACA subsidies, and measles outbreaks.

📉 In 2024, the national property #crime rate dropped to its lowest level in at least 48 years. That’s a 66% decline since 1991, when the rate was 5,140 offenses per 100,000 people. In 2024? It was 1,760.

We’re hitting the streets to spread holiday....data! 🎁Are you spending more or less on gifts this year?

Here's just a fact about ER holiday visits.

Yesterday, the #FederalReserve cut rates again — this time by a quarter point. It’s the third cut this year as policymakers work to lower borrowing costs. Was it the right move? And do you think we’ll see another cut in January?

65.6% of households in the US own their own while the remainder rents. Do you own your home or do you rent?