Laurel Springs, NC

The affordability dashboard for Laurel Springs, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,494 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (55/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $52,798, median home value of $222,400, median rent of $859 per month, and 41.3% 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 $978 per month (studio $740, 1BR $745, 3BR $1,173, 4BR $1,470). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,692 per year, consuming 11% 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 housing. Unemployment currently reads 2.0% and poverty 19.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.