Alden, KS

The affordability dashboard for Alden, KS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 234 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of A- (83/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $95,000, median home value of $66,000, median rent of — per month, and 32.1% 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 $877 per month (studio $643, 1BR $668, 3BR $1,178, 4BR $1,276). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $4,971 per year, consuming 5% 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 Alden, KS include income, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.0% and poverty 16.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.