Hot Springs, VA

The affordability dashboard for Hot Springs, VA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,673 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (47/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $51,500, median home value of $163,700, median rent of $855 per month, and 10.9% 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 $977 per month (studio $796, 1BR $801, 3BR $1,171, 4BR $1,528). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,234 per year, consuming 18% 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 1.5% and poverty 30.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.