Lafayette, AL

The affordability dashboard for Lafayette, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 6,623 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (33/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $37,719, median home value of $134,700, median rent of $678 per month, and 15.0% 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 $1,002 per month (studio $691, 1BR $770, 3BR $1,265, 4BR $1,327). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,018 per year, consuming 19% 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 10.2% and poverty 16.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.