Measure definitions
How lab measures are defined
Find out what each measure means, who it includes, and which results may be too uncertain to use. Check these definitions before comparing or citing estimates.
41 definitions
| Definition | Topic | Measure | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher Share of adults age 25–64 with at least a bachelor's degree. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| High school or higher Share of adults age 25–64 with at least a high school diploma or equivalent. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Some college or higher Share of adults age 25–64 who completed some college or a higher credential. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Associate degree or higher Share of adults age 25–64 with at least an associate degree. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Master's degree or higher Share of adults age 25–64 with at least a master's degree. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Doctoral or professional degree Share of adults age 25–64 with a professional or doctoral degree. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Postsecondary enrollment Share of people age 16–64 who attended college or graduate school in the past three months. | Enrollment | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| STEM field of degree Share of bachelor’s degree holders age 25–64 with a field included in an NDC STEM classification. | Field of degree | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Employment rate Share of working-age people who are employed. | Employment status | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Private-sector workers Share of employed people working for a private employer. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Full-time, year-round employment Share of employed people who worked 50–52 weeks in the past 12 months and usually worked at least 35 hours per week. | Employment type | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Median annual earnings Median annual earnings in ACS period-end dollars among full-time, year-round workers with earnings, including zero and net losses. | Earnings | Median | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Employment rate trend Employment rates over time, shown for individual survey periods. | Trend | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Employment by educational attainment Employment rate grouped by highest educational attainment. | Education by employment | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Median earnings by educational attainment Median annual earnings in ACS period-end dollars of full-time, year-round workers grouped by education. | Education by earnings | Median | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Occupation distribution Weighted percentage share of employed people in each NDC broad occupation group. | Occupation | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Median age Weighted median age of the selected population. | Age | Median | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Population by race and ethnicity Weighted population count by mutually exclusive race and ethnicity category. | Race and ethnicity | Count | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Population by sex reported in the ACS Weighted population count by the ACS sex field. | ACS sex | Count | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Additional disability Share of Deaf people reporting another ACS disability difficulty. | Additional disability | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| STEM occupation employment share Share of civilian employed adults age 16–64 in Census STEM occupations. STEM-related occupations are excluded. | Occupation | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Science and engineering degree share Share of bachelor’s-or-higher adults age 25–64 with a science and engineering field of degree under the ACS/NSF definition (SCIENGP). | Field of degree | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Unemployed population share Unemployed population share for Deaf and hearing adults. | Employment status | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Not in the labor force Not in the labor force for Deaf and hearing adults. | Employment status | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Private for-profit workers Private for-profit workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Private nonprofit workers Private nonprofit workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Local government workers Local government workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| State government workers State government workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Federal government workers Federal government workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Self-employed, business and unpaid family workers Self-employed, business and unpaid family workers for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Self-employment Self-employment for Deaf and hearing adults. | Employment type | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Business ownership Business ownership for Deaf and hearing adults. | Employment type | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Mean annual earnings Mean annual earnings for Deaf and hearing adults. | Earnings | Mean | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Mean earnings by educational attainment Mean earnings by educational attainment for Deaf and hearing adults. | Education by earnings | Mean | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| All education attainment levels All education attainment levels for Deaf and hearing adults. | Education | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| All employment statuses All employment statuses for Deaf and hearing adults. | Employment status | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| All worker classes All worker classes for Deaf and hearing adults. | Class of worker | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| College graduates by major College graduates by major for Deaf and hearing adults. | Field of degree | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Employment by college major Employment by college major for Deaf and hearing adults. | Field of degree | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher by occupation Bachelor’s degree attainment among workers in each occupation. | Occupation | Rate | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |
| Median earnings by occupation Median adjusted earnings of full-time, year-round employed people in each occupation, including Armed Forces. | Occupation | Median | ndc-observatory-2026.3 |