Chadron, NE

The affordability dashboard for Chadron, NE aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 7,365 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 $54,306, median home value of $163,800, median rent of $923 per month, and 38.1% 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 $1,031 per month (studio $715, 1BR $786, 3BR $1,372, 4BR $1,378). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,737 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. Unemployment currently reads 1.7% and poverty 15.1% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.