Dale, TX

The affordability dashboard for Dale, TX aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 7,092 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (39/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $64,715, median home value of $211,500, median rent of $1,362 per month, and 11.9% 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 $1,852 per month (studio $1,474, 1BR $1,562, 3BR $2,347, 4BR $2,760). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,504 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 education, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.4% and poverty 11.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.