Louisville, KY

The affordability dashboard for Louisville, KY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 32 ZIP codes covering 736,284 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (60/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $70,809, median home value of $247,251, median rent of $1,188 per month, and 35.0% 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 $1,272 per month (studio $966, 1BR $1,047, 3BR $1,625, 4BR $1,891). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,236 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Louisville, KY include rent. Unemployment currently reads 5.5% and poverty 15.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.