Gardendale, AL

The affordability dashboard for Gardendale, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 15,661 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (66/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $82,074, median home value of $261,600, median rent of $1,264 per month, and 29.4% 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 $1,266 per month (studio $1,024, 1BR $1,155, 3BR $1,583, 4BR $1,801). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,635 per year, consuming 9% 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 Gardendale, AL include rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 3.4% and poverty 3.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.