Madison, FL

The affordability dashboard for Madison, FL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 11,808 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (38/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $40,972, median home value of $132,900, median rent of $904 per month, and 14.0% 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 $1,086 per month (studio $873, 1BR $969, 3BR $1,400, 4BR $1,543). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,280 per year, consuming 18% 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 income, education. Unemployment currently reads 5.4% and poverty 20.9% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.