Jonesboro, AR

The affordability dashboard for Jonesboro, AR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 77,249 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (53/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $52,910, median home value of $206,383, median rent of $930 per month, and 28.1% 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 $1,040 per month (studio $805, 1BR $870, 3BR $1,402, 4BR $1,480).

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 Jonesboro, AR include commute. Unemployment currently reads 6.9% and poverty 25.6% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.