Essex, MD

The affordability dashboard for Essex, MD aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 42,154 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (38/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $67,340, median home value of $271,500, median rent of $1,310 per month, and 21.0% 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 $1,857 per month (studio $1,362, 1BR $1,511, 3BR $2,358, 4BR $2,611). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $17,955 per year, consuming 27% 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, commute, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.2% and poverty 12.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.