Albany, OR

The affordability dashboard for Albany, OR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 58,967 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $82,325, median home value of $403,714, median rent of $1,377 per month, and 29.3% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,500 per month (studio $1,034, 1BR $1,236, 3BR $2,030, 4BR $2,356). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,252 per year, consuming 15% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Strengths visible in the raw data for Albany, OR include rent. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 5.2% and poverty 12.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.