Ponce, PR

The affordability dashboard for Ponce, PR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 5 ZIP codes covering 148,410 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (30/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $19,677, median home value of $110,982, median rent of $536 per month, and 29.7% 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 $524 per month (studio $454, 1BR $467, 3BR $738, 4BR $828).

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 income, housing. Unemployment currently reads 14.8% and poverty 50.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.