Athens, AL

The affordability dashboard for Athens, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 53,253 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (60/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $74,090, median home value of $261,235, median rent of $1,023 per month, and 27.2% 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 $1,310 per month (studio $1,030, 1BR $1,136, 3BR $1,690, 4BR $2,109). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,073 per year, consuming 10% 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 Athens, AL include rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 3.9% and poverty 13.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.