Kearney, NE

The affordability dashboard for Kearney, NE aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 36,411 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (69/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $75,530, median home value of $262,027, median rent of $952 per month, and 37.5% 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 $1,031 per month (studio $787, 1BR $863, 3BR $1,360, 4BR $1,730). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,737 per year, consuming 13% 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 Kearney, NE include commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.3% and poverty 10.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.