Laurens, SC

The affordability dashboard for Laurens, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 20,977 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (51/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $53,941, median home value of $177,800, median rent of $835 per month, and 13.9% 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 $1,133 per month (studio $863, 1BR $869, 3BR $1,358, 4BR $1,625). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,774 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 education. Unemployment currently reads 5.1% and poverty 18.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.