Decatur, AL

The affordability dashboard for Decatur, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 64,979 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (62/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $65,560, median home value of $207,550, median rent of $900 per month, and 22.9% 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 $961 per month (studio $755, 1BR $776, 3BR $1,262, 4BR $1,550). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,073 per year, consuming 11% 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Decatur, AL include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 4.0% and poverty 12.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.