Colwell, IA

The affordability dashboard for Colwell, IA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 54 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (7/100). The headline inputs are median household income of —, median home value of $102,800, median rent of — per month, and 6.7% 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 $919 per month (studio $682, 1BR $700, 3BR $1,192, 4BR $1,217). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,703 per year.

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 education. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 0.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.