Black River, NY

The affordability dashboard for Black River, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,852 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (70/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $85,658, median home value of $203,700, median rent of $922 per month, and 25.3% 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 $1,405 per month (studio $969, 1BR $1,071, 3BR $1,907, 4BR $2,340). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,844 per year, consuming 15% 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 Black River, NY include housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 12.7% and poverty 12.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.