La Crescent, MN

The affordability dashboard for La Crescent, MN aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 7,513 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (72/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $88,611, median home value of $302,200, median rent of $883 per month, and 40.6% 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 $1,166 per month (studio $804, 1BR $889, 3BR $1,515, 4BR $1,903). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,388 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 La Crescent, MN include income, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 0.8% and poverty 5.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.