Essex, NY

The affordability dashboard for Essex, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 599 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (63/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $77,321, median home value of $290,800, median rent of $910 per month, and 42.0% 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 $1,185 per month (studio $891, 1BR $903, 3BR $1,455, 4BR $1,645). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,844 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Essex, NY include education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 4.4% and poverty 19.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.