Kershaw, SC

The affordability dashboard for Kershaw, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 10,949 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (44/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $52,077, median home value of $155,100, median rent of $831 per month, and 10.6% 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 $1,011 per month (studio $881, 1BR $922, 3BR $1,382, 4BR $1,696). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,558 per year, consuming 22% 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 income, education, commute, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.2% and poverty 13.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.