Ferguson, KY

The affordability dashboard for Ferguson, KY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 802 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (41/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $41,000, median home value of $153,100, median rent of $765 per month, and 14.4% 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 $926 per month (studio $662, 1BR $706, 3BR $1,110, 4BR $1,355). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,423 per year, consuming 13% 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 income, education. Unemployment currently reads 6.3% and poverty 32.2% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.