Cheney, WA

The affordability dashboard for Cheney, WA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 18,376 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (45/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $67,337, median home value of $420,500, median rent of $1,172 per month, and 35.7% 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 $1,531 per month (studio $1,103, 1BR $1,193, 3BR $2,088, 4BR $2,506). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $14,992 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, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 10.2% and poverty 19.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.