Columbia, NC

The affordability dashboard for Columbia, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 4,217 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (40/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $41,522, median home value of $161,100, median rent of $644 per month, and 13.2% 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 $925 per month (studio $739, 1BR $744, 3BR $1,286, 4BR $1,390). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,692 per year, consuming 14% 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. Unemployment currently reads 2.6% and poverty 18.5% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.