Marshall, MI

The affordability dashboard for Marshall, MI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 14,646 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (74/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $80,857, median home value of $214,800, median rent of $1,033 per month, and 37.9% 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 $1,176 per month (studio $833, 1BR $976, 3BR $1,410, 4BR $1,565). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $6,985 per year, consuming 9% 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 Marshall, MI include housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.5% and poverty 7.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.