Brookfield, WI

The affordability dashboard for Brookfield, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 41,111 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B+ (78/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $125,162, median home value of $437,902, median rent of $1,949 per month, and 63.7% 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 $1,338 per month (studio $1,027, 1BR $1,119, 3BR $1,648, 4BR $1,784). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,236 per year, consuming 12% 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 Brookfield, WI include income, education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.7% and poverty 3.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.