Chester, SC

The affordability dashboard for Chester, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 19,847 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (48/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $51,230, median home value of $158,800, median rent of $785 per month, and 14.2% 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 $1,056 per month (studio $811, 1BR $816, 3BR $1,469, 4BR $1,547). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $6,095 per year, consuming 12% 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, commute. Unemployment currently reads 6.6% and poverty 21.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.