It is being called an “impartial, data-driven tool” that provides both current and historical costs for housing, utilities, selected groceries and gas by region and metropolitan area. And, it is now accessible across each of the digital platforms associated with the eight ABC Owned Television Stations under ownership of The Walt Disney Co.
Introducing the Price Tracker app, live across all digitally delivered ways one can access content from the eight ABC O&Os.
Developed by ABC OTV’s Data Journalism team, the application aggregates data on the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The online interactive tools allow users to search for their area and access all relevant data.
ABC explains, “With the development of ‘smart cities’ and the growing amount of publicly available data, newsrooms can offer context and relevance for issues affecting local communities. By analyzing data at the neighborhood level, this approach to investigative reporting aims to provide additional context for the communities served by ABC’s eight owned stations.”
Highlights include the following:
- Housing: Provides data on average monthly rents and home prices in each metropolitan area beginning January 2015 to the most recent month, allowing viewers to draw comparisons between local prices and the typical cost to rent or own in the U.S, or review changes in housing and rent prices over the past decade, and identify which has increased at a faster rate.
- Utilities: Shows average monthly electricity bills by state.
- Gas: Provides users with monthly regional data on regular unleaded gasoline prices.
- Groceries: Average monthly prices for groceries—including produce, meats, dairy and dry goods—by region. Availability varies regionally. Audiences may also examine historical peak prices from the past decade or identify which products experienced the most significant price increases.
