Cheshire, MA

The affordability dashboard for Cheshire, MA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 3,117 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 $69,803, median home value of $268,200, median rent of — per month, and 26.9% 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 $1,626 per month (studio $1,245, 1BR $1,269, 3BR $2,109, 4BR $2,577). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $17,160 per year, consuming 25% 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 commute, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.6% and poverty 8.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.