Paterson, NJ

The affordability dashboard for Paterson, NJ aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 9 ZIP codes covering 146,199 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (27/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $58,629, median home value of $350,706, median rent of $1,564 per month, and 11.8% 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 $2,324 per month (studio $1,778, 1BR $2,024, 3BR $2,835, 4BR $3,618). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,994 per year, consuming 27% 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, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 10.5% and poverty 21.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.