Amsterdam, NY

The affordability dashboard for Amsterdam, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 28,937 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $63,696, median home value of $180,200, median rent of $1,000 per month, and 25.6% 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 $1,102 per month (studio $892, 1BR $899, 3BR $1,381, 4BR $1,484). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,844 per year, consuming 20% 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 Amsterdam, NY include rent. Pressure points are childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.1% and poverty 15.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.