Elmwood, WI

The affordability dashboard for Elmwood, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,056 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 $79,387, median home value of $239,700, median rent of $860 per month, and 24.7% 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 $1,709 per month (studio $1,242, 1BR $1,405, 3BR $2,262, 4BR $2,531). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,920 per year, consuming 14% 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, commute. Unemployment currently reads 1.7% and poverty 7.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.