Cortland, IL

The affordability dashboard for Cortland, IL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 4,560 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $72,831, median home value of $229,900, median rent of $1,552 per month, and 26.6% 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 $1,373 per month (studio $947, 1BR $1,046, 3BR $1,825, 4BR $2,203). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,222 per year, consuming 21% 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 childcare. Unemployment currently reads 8.1% and poverty 6.9% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.