Madera, CA

The affordability dashboard for Madera, CA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 98,719 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (44/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $74,501, median home value of $373,871, median rent of $1,467 per month, and 14.1% 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 $1,376 per month (studio $1,055, 1BR $1,062, 3BR $1,914, 4BR $2,275). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $17,239 per year, consuming 23% 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, housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 10.9% and poverty 22.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.