Marion, SC

The affordability dashboard for Marion, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 15,622 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 $37,395, median home value of $108,400, median rent of $677 per month, and 16.9% 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 $902 per month (studio $678, 1BR $823, 3BR $1,197, 4BR $1,424). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,856 per year, consuming 16% 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 6.8% and poverty 24.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.