Howard, CO

The affordability dashboard for Howard, CO aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 823 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (42/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,386, median home value of $474,600, median rent of — per month, and 28.3% 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 $1,244 per month (studio $942, 1BR $948, 3BR $1,593, 4BR $1,647). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,635 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. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 2.2% and poverty 0.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.