Emporia, KS

The affordability dashboard for Emporia, KS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 28,492 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (67/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $56,794, median home value of $152,700, median rent of $822 per month, and 26.6% 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 $877 per month (studio $624, 1BR $668, 3BR $1,142, 4BR $1,381). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $4,971 per year, consuming 9% 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 Emporia, KS include housing, commute, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 2.0% and poverty 15.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.