Penrose, NC

The affordability dashboard for Penrose, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,262 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (42/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $57,708, median home value of $307,000, median rent of $1,217 per month, and 20.4% 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 $1,164 per month (studio $881, 1BR $887, 3BR $1,396, 4BR $1,749). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,791 per year, consuming 17% 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. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 13.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.