Hammond, IN

The affordability dashboard for Hammond, IN aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 73,569 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (49/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $53,950, median home value of $153,374, median rent of $1,153 per month, and 15.9% 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 $1,317 per month (studio $959, 1BR $1,082, 3BR $1,612, 4BR $1,744).

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 6.7% and poverty 19.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.