Blue Mounds, WI

The affordability dashboard for Blue Mounds, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,752 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $84,722, median home value of $445,000, median rent of $1,079 per month, and 41.4% 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 $1,694 per month (studio $1,268, 1BR $1,482, 3BR $2,236, 4BR $2,509). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,236 per year, consuming 18% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 2.5% and poverty 5.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.