Lancaster, CA

The affordability dashboard for Lancaster, CA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 182,305 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (38/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $82,743, median home value of $439,384, median rent of $1,811 per month, and 19.6% 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 $2,601 per month (studio $1,863, 1BR $2,085, 3BR $3,298, 4BR $3,672). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $13,363 per year, consuming 16% 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 education, housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 7.6% and poverty 15.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.