About Reality Filter — Methodology & Data Sources
Reality Filter gives you statistical reality checks for dating, career, wealth, and location — based on publicly available census data, WHO reports, OECD datasets, and demographic surveys.
What we do
We take the raw data from national census bureaus and international research bodies and turn it into interactive calculators that show you how common (or rare) your criteria really are. We don't tell you what to want — we show you what the numbers say.
Our modules
- Dating Pool Calculator — What % of people match all your partner criteria simultaneously?
- Career Reality Check — What are your statistical odds of reaching director, VP, or C-suite?
- Wealth Reality Check — What are your odds of reaching €100K, €500K, or €1M+ net worth?
- Location Reality Filter — Find the best places to live based on your actual priorities.
- Life Reality Check — Statistical perspective on survival, time, and life milestones.
Methodology
All filters are applied multiplicatively with correlation adjustments. For example, height and income are mildly positively correlated, so combining them yields a slightly higher result than multiplying independent probabilities. Where correlation data is not available, conservative independence assumptions are used.
Dating pool math
The dating pool calculator starts with the total adult population of the selected country/region, filtered by target gender. Each criterion (height, income, education, fitness, etc.) applies a population percentile derived from national survey data. The final result is the percentage of the starting population that meets all criteria simultaneously.
Data sources
- Height distributions: CDC, Eurostat, WHO Global Health Observatory
- Income percentiles: OECD, national tax authority data, US Census Bureau
- Education: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Eurostat, ONS
- Wealth: Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report, ECB HFCS, World Bank
- Career: Bureau of Labor Statistics, LinkedIn Economic Graph, HBR
- Location: Numbeo, Global Peace Index, Freedom House, World Bank
Frequently asked questions
- Where does Reality Filter get its data?
- Publicly available data from WHO, OECD, national census bureaus, Credit Suisse, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Freedom House, and the Global Peace Index. All sources are updated annually.
- How accurate are the probability estimates?
- Estimates reflect population-level statistical distributions, not individual predictions. A 5% probability means roughly 1 in 20 people with similar characteristics reach that outcome — not that you personally have a 5% chance.
- Are the filters applied independently or together?
- Filters are applied jointly (multiplicatively) with correlation adjustments where data supports it.
- Does Reality Filter store my answers?
- Calculations are performed client-side or via our API and are not stored by default. Pro users can optionally save their profiles. We do not sell personal data.