Middletown, CA

The affordability dashboard for Middletown, CA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 3,413 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (52/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $78,667, median home value of $387,400, median rent of $2,107 per month, and 31.3% 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 $1,549 per month (studio $1,173, 1BR $1,181, 3BR $2,154, 4BR $2,599). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $13,594 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 11.1% and poverty 9.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.