Islip, NY

The affordability dashboard for Islip, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 14,961 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 $116,559, median home value of $563,100, median rent of $2,257 per month, and 35.7% 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 $2,747 per month (studio $1,992, 1BR $2,379, 3BR $3,563, 4BR $3,768). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $16,900 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 Islip, NY include income. Pressure points are housing. Unemployment currently reads 5.6% and poverty 5.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.