Paragould, AR

The affordability dashboard for Paragould, AR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 36,033 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (57/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $57,725, median home value of $178,100, median rent of $914 per month, and 16.8% 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 $905 per month (studio $648, 1BR $772, 3BR $1,259, 4BR $1,492).

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 Paragould, AR include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 6.2% and poverty 18.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.