Highwood, MT

The affordability dashboard for Highwood, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 467 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $70,250, median home value of $288,200, median rent of $1,323 per month, and 36.3% 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 $1,307 per month (studio $980, 1BR $996, 3BR $1,662, 4BR $1,950). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,100 per year, consuming 16% 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 housing. Unemployment currently reads 7.8% and poverty 4.8% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.