Madison, MS

The affordability dashboard for Madison, MS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 36,143 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of A- (83/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $125,506, median home value of $362,600, median rent of $1,766 per month, and 64.2% 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 $1,288 per month (studio $1,091, 1BR $1,097, 3BR $1,544, 4BR $1,705). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,541 per year, consuming 6% 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 Madison, MS include income, education, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 1.3% and poverty 3.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.