Buffalo, NY

The affordability dashboard for Buffalo, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 28 ZIP codes covering 564,824 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 $65,887, median home value of $215,970, median rent of $1,111 per month, and 36.4% 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 $1,343 per month (studio $1,105, 1BR $1,139, 3BR $1,640, 4BR $1,869). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,028 per year, consuming 23% 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 Buffalo, NY include commute. Pressure points are childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.6% and poverty 18.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.