New Milton, WV

The affordability dashboard for New Milton, WV aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 707 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 $50,000, median home value of $158,600, median rent of $823 per month, and 25.5% 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 $928 per month (studio $712, 1BR $754, 3BR $1,207, 4BR $1,257). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,547 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 income. Unemployment currently reads 13.4% and poverty 11.7% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.