Gastonia, NC

The affordability dashboard for Gastonia, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 102,620 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (50/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $66,156, median home value of $246,893, median rent of $1,166 per month, and 23.6% 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 $1,686 per month (studio $1,469, 1BR $1,538, 3BR $2,076, 4BR $2,637). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,687 per year, consuming 12% 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. Unemployment currently reads 5.7% and poverty 16.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.