Everett, MA

The affordability dashboard for Everett, MA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 41,550 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (31/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $85,218, median home value of $610,000, median rent of $2,076 per month, and 24.9% 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 $2,941 per month (studio $2,359, 1BR $2,476, 3BR $3,526, 4BR $3,894). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $24,001 per year, consuming 28% 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, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.5% and poverty 14.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.