Cartersville, GA

The affordability dashboard for Cartersville, GA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 60,163 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $83,566, median home value of $299,110, median rent of $1,267 per month, and 26.1% 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 $1,820 per month (studio $1,585, 1BR $1,660, 3BR $2,182, 4BR $2,605). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,436 per year, consuming 9% 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 Cartersville, GA include childcare. Pressure points are commute. Unemployment currently reads 5.1% and poverty 11.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.