Ferndale, NY

The affordability dashboard for Ferndale, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 867 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 $56,740, median home value of $382,800, median rent of — per month, and 35.2% 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 $1,302 per month (studio $995, 1BR $1,070, 3BR $1,811, 4BR $1,891). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,844 per year, consuming 23% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 1.7% and poverty 10.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.