Dillsboro, NC

The affordability dashboard for Dillsboro, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 43 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 $57,750, median home value of —, median rent of $1,107 per month, and 31.1% 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 $964 per month (studio $840, 1BR $879, 3BR $1,272, 4BR $1,276). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,404 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Dillsboro, NC include rent. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 18.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.