Charlestown, MD

The affordability dashboard for Charlestown, MD aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 765 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (42/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $66,806, median home value of $288,500, median rent of $1,522 per month, and 25.1% 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 $1,810 per month (studio $1,397, 1BR $1,520, 3BR $2,170, 4BR $2,423). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $13,231 per year, consuming 20% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.9% and poverty 20.1% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.