Gering, NE

The affordability dashboard for Gering, NE aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 11,165 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (71/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $73,638, median home value of $185,700, median rent of $826 per month, and 30.9% 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 $987 per month (studio $685, 1BR $758, 3BR $1,314, 4BR $1,397). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,737 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Gering, NE include housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 0.7% and poverty 14.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.