Houston, OH

The affordability dashboard for Houston, OH aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,345 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (55/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $63,906, median home value of $199,200, median rent of $1,177 per month, and 9.5% 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 $1,033 per month (studio $720, 1BR $787, 3BR $1,384, 4BR $1,448). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,025 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 Houston, OH include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 7.0% and poverty 11.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.