Cleveland, OH

The affordability dashboard for Cleveland, OH aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 29 ZIP codes covering 769,341 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (51/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $55,107, median home value of $148,319, median rent of $1,015 per month, and 29.5% 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 $1,279 per month (studio $933, 1BR $1,058, 3BR $1,646, 4BR $1,760). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,340 per year, consuming 28% 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Cleveland, OH include housing. Pressure points are childcare. Unemployment currently reads 9.0% and poverty 22.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.