Baytown, TX

The affordability dashboard for Baytown, TX aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 103,027 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 $75,133, median home value of $226,077, median rent of $1,383 per month, and 17.2% 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 $1,573 per month (studio $1,280, 1BR $1,323, 3BR $2,116, 4BR $2,639). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,620 per year, consuming 13% 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 education. Unemployment currently reads 9.7% and poverty 15.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.