Dinosaur, CO

The affordability dashboard for Dinosaur, CO aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 465 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 $51,105, median home value of —, median rent of $974 per month, and 12.5% 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 $1,164 per month (studio $881, 1BR $887, 3BR $1,396, 4BR $1,614). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,153 per year, consuming 30% 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, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 38.2% and poverty 2.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.