Anderson, SC

The affordability dashboard for Anderson, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 93,613 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (53/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $61,432, median home value of $216,657, median rent of $1,002 per month, and 26.1% 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 $1,173 per month (studio $1,022, 1BR $1,035, 3BR $1,519, 4BR $1,849). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,344 per year, consuming 17% 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. Unemployment currently reads 6.0% and poverty 16.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.