Alsea, OR

The affordability dashboard for Alsea, OR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,126 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (42/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $67,891, median home value of $397,400, median rent of $1,193 per month, and 17.5% 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 $1,480 per month (studio $1,121, 1BR $1,128, 3BR $2,043, 4BR $2,483). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,260 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. Pressure points are education, housing. Unemployment currently reads 7.9% and poverty 23.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.