Lubbock, TX

The affordability dashboard for Lubbock, TX aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 14 ZIP codes covering 254,282 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (65/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $64,082, median home value of $191,215, median rent of $1,195 per month, and 32.9% 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 $1,175 per month (studio $818, 1BR $990, 3BR $1,634, 4BR $1,940). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,592 per year, consuming 12% 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 Lubbock, TX include commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 5.4% and poverty 19.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.