Carbondale, PA

The affordability dashboard for Carbondale, PA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 13,862 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (59/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $59,652, median home value of $162,800, median rent of $807 per month, and 26.0% 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 $1,252 per month (studio $863, 1BR $1,028, 3BR $1,631, 4BR $1,766).

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 Carbondale, PA include housing. Unemployment currently reads 5.7% and poverty 19.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.