Alder, MT

The affordability dashboard for Alder, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 286 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (29/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $50,885, median home value of $490,900, median rent of — per month, and 35.0% 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 $1,540 per month (studio $1,154, 1BR $1,202, 3BR $2,073, 4BR $2,583). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,264 per year, consuming 24% 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. Pressure points are income, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 6.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.