Colton, WA

The affordability dashboard for Colton, WA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 761 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (73/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $104,643, median home value of $398,000, median rent of $1,281 per month, and 49.8% 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 $1,169 per month (studio $806, 1BR $891, 3BR $1,626, 4BR $1,961). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,326 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Colton, WA include income, education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.4% and poverty 2.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.