Oskaloosa, IA

The affordability dashboard for Oskaloosa, IA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 15,055 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (68/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $66,084, median home value of $163,300, median rent of $825 per month, and 26.1% 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 $947 per month (studio $717, 1BR $722, 3BR $1,135, 4BR $1,254). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,171 per year, consuming 12% 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 Oskaloosa, IA include housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 4.4% and poverty 15.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.