Allendale, SC

The affordability dashboard for Allendale, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 4,990 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (30/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $26,835, median home value of $79,600, median rent of $646 per month, and 20.1% 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 $902 per month (studio $678, 1BR $823, 3BR $1,216, 4BR $1,246). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,856 per year, consuming 22% 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, education, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 11.8% and poverty 33.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.