Manchester, NH

The affordability dashboard for Manchester, NH aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 5 ZIP codes covering 113,733 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (50/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $81,614, median home value of $363,399, median rent of $1,560 per month, and 34.1% 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 $2,127 per month (studio $1,467, 1BR $1,673, 3BR $2,822, 4BR $3,001). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,603 per year, consuming 19% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 3.2% and poverty 11.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.