Chatham, VA

The affordability dashboard for Chatham, VA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 9,203 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 $43,333, median home value of $148,000, median rent of $830 per month, and 17.2% 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 $914 per month (studio $630, 1BR $738, 3BR $1,263, 4BR $1,415). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,030 per year, consuming 19% 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 income, education, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 2.7% and poverty 14.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.