Hickory, NC

The affordability dashboard for Hickory, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 79,007 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (58/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $65,701, median home value of $243,736, median rent of $980 per month, and 30.3% 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 $1,095 per month (studio $858, 1BR $908, 3BR $1,372, 4BR $1,660). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,519 per year, consuming 14% 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 Hickory, NC include rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.1% and poverty 14.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.