Auburn, NY

The affordability dashboard for Auburn, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 41,239 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (57/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,712, median home value of $180,700, median rent of $911 per month, and 26.2% 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 $1,124 per month (studio $884, 1BR $889, 3BR $1,463, 4BR $1,679). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,844 per year, consuming 21% 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 childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.3% and poverty 15.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.