Montgomery, AL

The affordability dashboard for Montgomery, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 13 ZIP codes covering 214,703 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (62/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $56,843, median home value of $159,230, median rent of $1,091 per month, and 32.3% 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 $1,016 per month (studio $860, 1BR $870, 3BR $1,304, 4BR $1,537). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,566 per year, consuming 13% 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 Montgomery, AL include housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 6.4% and poverty 21.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.