Manhattan, KS

The affordability dashboard for Manhattan, KS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 60,892 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (64/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $64,917, median home value of $250,295, median rent of $1,014 per month, and 51.2% 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 $1,068 per month (studio $870, 1BR $875, 3BR $1,485, 4BR $1,792). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,181 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 Manhattan, KS include education, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 3.3% and poverty 26.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.