Lake Crystal, MN

The affordability dashboard for Lake Crystal, MN aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 3,902 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 $90,987, median home value of $226,100, median rent of $848 per month, and 32.2% 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 $1,171 per month (studio $971, 1BR $977, 3BR $1,629, 4BR $1,916). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,972 per year, consuming 12% 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 Lake Crystal, MN include income, housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 1.9% and poverty 6.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.