Palm Bay, FL

The affordability dashboard for Palm Bay, FL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 4 ZIP codes covering 104,966 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (50/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $73,118, median home value of $282,538, median rent of $1,690 per month, and 24.2% 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 $1,709 per month (studio $1,266, 1BR $1,478, 3BR $2,330, 4BR $2,645). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,400 per year, consuming 14% 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 education. Unemployment currently reads 6.0% and poverty 11.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.