Darien, GA

The affordability dashboard for Darien, GA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 5,989 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (34/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $43,138, median home value of $174,700, median rent of $905 per month, and 15.6% 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 $1,293 per month (studio $1,035, 1BR $1,105, 3BR $1,550, 4BR $1,906). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,642 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, housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.2% and poverty 19.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.