Helena, MO

The affordability dashboard for Helena, MO aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 472 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (74/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $78,808, median home value of $170,900, median rent of — per month, and 31.3% 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 $1,077 per month (studio $774, 1BR $832, 3BR $1,363, 4BR $1,566).

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 Helena, MO include housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 7.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.