New Salem, MA

The affordability dashboard for New Salem, MA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 878 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (53/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $82,713, median home value of $375,000, median rent of $1,202 per month, and 36.8% 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 $1,866 per month (studio $1,287, 1BR $1,422, 3BR $2,237, 4BR $2,471). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $17,160 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 2.0% and poverty 10.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.