Lancaster, TX

The affordability dashboard for Lancaster, TX aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 38,269 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (47/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $68,975, median home value of $248,959, median rent of $1,755 per month, and 24.8% 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 $1,931 per month (studio $1,582, 1BR $1,648, 3BR $2,431, 4BR $3,091). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,088 per year, consuming 15% 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, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 6.9% and poverty 15.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.