Funkstown, MD

The affordability dashboard for Funkstown, MD aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 771 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (45/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $61,392, median home value of $277,800, median rent of $808 per month, and 29.9% 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 $1,261 per month (studio $869, 1BR $961, 3BR $1,700, 4BR $1,901). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $13,231 per year, consuming 22% 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 4.3% and poverty 7.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.