Opelika, AL

The affordability dashboard for Opelika, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 39,075 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (59/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $62,184, median home value of $227,437, median rent of $885 per month, and 33.9% 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 $1,181 per month (studio $847, 1BR $1,077, 3BR $1,494, 4BR $1,699). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,018 per year, consuming 11% 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. Unemployment currently reads 5.0% and poverty 16.9% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.