Mesa, AZ

The affordability dashboard for Mesa, AZ aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 13 ZIP codes covering 478,404 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (51/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $81,247, median home value of $390,066, median rent of $1,662 per month, and 30.9% 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 $1,839 per month (studio $1,457, 1BR $1,583, 3BR $2,452, 4BR $2,720). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $14,040 per year, consuming 17% 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. Unemployment currently reads 4.4% and poverty 11.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.