Elk Creek, CA

The affordability dashboard for Elk Creek, CA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 604 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (19/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $40,568, median home value of $423,500, median rent of $1,125 per month, and 26.1% 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 $1,362 per month (studio $939, 1BR $1,038, 3BR $1,807, 4BR $2,179). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,387 per year, consuming 31% 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, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 0.8% and poverty 10.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.