Elgin, OR

The affordability dashboard for Elgin, OR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,628 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (46/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,766, median home value of $262,500, median rent of $1,001 per month, and 14.0% 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 $1,222 per month (studio $843, 1BR $980, 3BR $1,700, 4BR $2,050). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,260 per year, consuming 17% 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, housing. Unemployment currently reads 4.1% and poverty 10.2% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.