Bath, ME

The affordability dashboard for Bath, ME aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 10,818 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 $79,649, median home value of $336,800, median rent of $1,053 per month, and 45.0% 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 $1,577 per month (studio $1,105, 1BR $1,264, 3BR $2,193, 4BR $2,645). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,007 per year, consuming 14% 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 Bath, ME include education. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 5.4% and poverty 11.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.