Charlo, MT

The affordability dashboard for Charlo, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,792 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (32/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $53,382, median home value of $317,800, median rent of $846 per month, and 25.4% 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 $1,444 per month (studio $1,097, 1BR $1,104, 3BR $1,865, 4BR $1,990). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,733 per year, consuming 22% 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, commute, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 2.6% and poverty 15.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.