Copemish, MI

The affordability dashboard for Copemish, MI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,379 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (42/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $52,583, median home value of $182,300, median rent of $1,208 per month, and 13.0% 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 $1,048 per month (studio $742, 1BR $799, 3BR $1,332, 4BR $1,388). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,427 per year, consuming 16% 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 4.6% and poverty 22.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.