Northport, AL

The affordability dashboard for Northport, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 37,522 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (67/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $82,861, median home value of $285,357, median rent of $978 per month, and 34.0% 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 $1,169 per month (studio $966, 1BR $972, 3BR $1,490, 4BR $1,548). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,094 per year, consuming 9% 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 Northport, AL include rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.4% and poverty 12.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.