Buhl, AL

The affordability dashboard for Buhl, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,234 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (28/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $39,313, median home value of $158,200, median rent of $818 per month, and 7.9% 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 $1,169 per month (studio $966, 1BR $972, 3BR $1,490, 4BR $1,548). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,094 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 income, education, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 7.4% and poverty 24.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.