Ponderosa, NM

The affordability dashboard for Ponderosa, NM aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 387 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (45/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,313, median home value of —, median rent of — per month, and 19.8% 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 $1,464 per month (studio $1,009, 1BR $1,185, 3BR $2,036, 4BR $2,399).

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. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 38.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.