Platform Architecture

Methodology & Data Sourcing

An objective, mathematically grounded directory dedicated to the structural analysis of U.S. compensation data and cost-of-living purchasing power.

1. National & Regional Baselines (BLS & BEA)

We rely on two foundational federal datasets to calculate domestic compensation benchmarks:

  • Nominal Domestic Wages: Sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, capturing cross-industry wage distributions across national, statewide, and metropolitan statistical areas.
  • Purchasing Power Parity: Localized using the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities (RPP)—including SARPP for statewide indexes and MARPP for metropolitan statistical areas.

2. Foreign Talent & H-1B Sponsor Data

Foreign labor market sponsorship metrics are derived from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Labor Condition Applications (LCA):

  • Filtering & Deduplication: Records are strictly filtered for cases marked CERTIFIED and designated as full-time positions (FULL_TIME_POSITION == 'Y'). Case numbers are deduplicated to eliminate amendment duplicates.
  • Sample Size Suppression: To prevent statistical skewing in small sample pools, occupations, metros, or employers with fewer than 10 certified unique cases are suppressed from percentile distribution reporting.
  • Employer Clustering: Standard corporate legal entity suffixes (e.g., LLC, INC, CORP, LLP) are normalized, and known subsidiaries are clustered into parent brand umbrellas (e.g., AWS to Amazon, Mindtree to LTIMindtree) for accurate organizational volume reporting.

3. Inflation & Real Wage Growth Models

To accurately measure real wage growth beyond nominal increases, our analytical pipeline uses two distinct, cadence-matched inflation benchmarks derived from the BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, Series CUUR0000SA0):

BLS OEWS Benchmark (Point-to-Point)

Calculated on a point-to-point May-to-May national CPI-U basis, aligning directly with the reference month of the annual BLS occupational wage survey.

H-1B Sponsor Benchmark (Trailing 12-Month)

Calculated using the 12-month average CPI-U across the full fiscal trailing year, matching the continuous, year-round filing cycle of Labor Condition Applications.

Real year-over-year wage growth is computed using the standard Fisher adjustment formula: Real Growth % = [((1 + Nominal Growth / 100) / (1 + Inflation Rate / 100)) - 1] * 100

Important Non-Affiliation Notice: WageComparator is a strictly independent, private technology platform. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the United States Government, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Department of Labor (DOL), or the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).