Henderson, NC

The affordability dashboard for Henderson, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 41,608 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (51/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $50,417, median home value of $151,165, median rent of $921 per month, and 17.2% 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 $975 per month (studio $738, 1BR $743, 3BR $1,197, 4BR $1,318). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,351 per year, consuming 17% 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 income, education. Unemployment currently reads 8.9% and poverty 20.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.