Bethlehem, PA

The affordability dashboard for Bethlehem, PA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 123,241 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (65/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $84,743, median home value of $304,857, median rent of $1,460 per month, and 38.6% 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 $1,634 per month (studio $1,130, 1BR $1,341, 3BR $2,087, 4BR $2,195).

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 5.8% and poverty 12.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.