Columbia, SC

The affordability dashboard for Columbia, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 14 ZIP codes covering 333,497 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (55/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,550, median home value of $228,511, median rent of $1,280 per month, and 40.5% 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 $1,276 per month (studio $1,032, 1BR $1,164, 3BR $1,623, 4BR $1,911). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,506 per year, consuming 17% 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. Unemployment currently reads 6.5% and poverty 19.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.