Altoona, WI

The affordability dashboard for Altoona, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 7,039 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (72/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $85,977, median home value of $236,700, median rent of $1,246 per month, and 42.3% 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 $1,181 per month (studio $932, 1BR $962, 3BR $1,582, 4BR $1,588). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,236 per year, consuming 18% 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 Altoona, WI include education, housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.8% and poverty 12.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.