Cope, SC

The affordability dashboard for Cope, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,445 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (41/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $43,563, median home value of $157,700, median rent of $728 per month, and 15.4% 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 $910 per month (studio $709, 1BR $750, 3BR $1,091, 4BR $1,205). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,774 per year, consuming 13% 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, commute. Unemployment currently reads 3.0% and poverty 16.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.