La Plata, NM

The affordability dashboard for La Plata, NM aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,059 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 $82,750, median home value of $225,000, median rent of — per month, and 27.5% 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 $1,085 per month (studio $882, 1BR $885, 3BR $1,509, 4BR $1,630).

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 Plata, NM include housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.7% and poverty 23.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.