Middletown, OH

The affordability dashboard for Middletown, OH aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 79,273 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (57/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $72,327, median home value of $228,453, median rent of $1,025 per month, and 26.9% 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 $1,353 per month (studio $958, 1BR $1,051, 3BR $1,785, 4BR $1,976). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,340 per year, consuming 21% 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 childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.6% and poverty 12.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.