Pearl, MS

The affordability dashboard for Pearl, MS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 31,371 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (61/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $65,480, median home value of $185,200, median rent of $1,183 per month, and 25.2% 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 $1,288 per month (studio $1,091, 1BR $1,097, 3BR $1,544, 4BR $1,705). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,554 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. Unemployment currently reads 4.3% and poverty 12.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.