Urban across the Country

Urban’s researchers partner with state and local leaders to provide the evidence, tools, and support they need to improve lives and strengthen communities. This work includes strategic advising to translate research into action, program evaluations to measure effectiveness, and research and data analysis to inform decisionmaking. Our experts develop custom data tools and modeling to support equitable resource allocation and lead community-engaged research and convenings to ensure policies reflect local priorities.

Use this page to explore Urban’s work. Search by region to see examples of our research, and filter by evidence and products to narrow results by topic or type of work.

Dive deeper into your state and community with our data tools. View highlighted tools below, select “Data tools” under “Filter by Product Types,” or head directly to our data tools page.

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State and community data tools
Explore our work by state
Brief Recruitment of Teaching and Home-Visiting Staff in Early Head Start Programs
This brief highlights select findings from a national survey of Early Head Start programs about the recruitment approaches they use and their success hiring qualified staff. The purpose of this brief is to present information about the ways Early Head Start programs recruit teachers and home
Journal Article Why the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Misvalues Fee Levels and How to Fix It
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) relies on the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) to estimate the physician work and direct practice expense associated with the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). However, as CMS notes in the 2026 MPFS
Research Report Housing Finance at a Glance: A Monthly Chartbook September 2025
Housing Finance at a Glance is a monthly reference guide policymakers and industry professionals have used since 2013 to stay informed about the latest mortgage and housing market data. The chartbook includes more than 80 updated figures describing current trends in the US housing finance market
Research Report Evaluation of the Promise Heights Promise Neighborhood
This report presents findings from a process study evaluation of the Promise Heights Promise Neighborhood in the West Baltimore communities of Upton and Druid Heights. As a grantee of the federal Promise Neighborhoods program, Promise Heights created a cradle-to-career pipeline of support for
Brief Ruling in Challenge to Marketplace Rule
On August 22, a federal District Court judge in Maryland stayed, on a nationwide basis, the implementation of several provisions in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “Marketplace Integrity” final rule. The Court also found no statutory basis for CMS’ long-standing “failure to