Lynchburg, VA

The affordability dashboard for Lynchburg, VA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 99,291 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (62/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $64,031, median home value of $232,244, median rent of $1,091 per month, and 37.8% 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 $1,187 per month (studio $1,027, 1BR $1,033, 3BR $1,635, 4BR $1,750). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,044 per year, consuming 13% 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 Lynchburg, VA include commute. Unemployment currently reads 4.5% and poverty 16.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.