Drop zones operate today in almost every state and in major population centers there's usually more than one skydiving center to choose from.
Which DZ you go to will probably depend largely on the location and the kind of operation you're looking for.
Many smaller DZ's operate Cessnas (for 4-5 people) while bigger ones are flying planes like King Airs, Twin Otters and a variety of other aircraft.

Prices for first time jumpers, whether AFF or Tandem, don't vary much between drop zones and usually come within +/- $30 of each other. You can expect to pay somewhere around $200 for a Tandem jump and roughly $300 for your first AFF jump, including the First Jump Course. Prices for experienced skydivers are usually around $20 for a ride to full altitude, whichever that may be. (12,500 AGL here in Cal City)

Many publications as well as USPA encourage people to shop around a little, make an informed decision and check out the place where you'll be jumping before your actual jump.
We agree completely and will be more than happy to show you around in person, let you see how everything operates and answer any questions you have.

Skydiving has evolved into two major categories, 'Relative Work' and 'Freeflying', with other disciplines like CreW (Canopy relative Work) and Canopy Piloting (Swooping) emerging and being integrated.
Relative Work, or RW for short, refers to skydiving done in the traditional 'belly to earth' body position, while 'Freeflying' refers to the newer way of flying in a sitting, standing or head down position.
The speed and feel of the skydive is greatly different and both ways have to be learned separately.
Competition is organized in categories like 4-way, 8-way, 10-way etc., freeflying, freestyle, style and accuracy and swooping, to just name a few.