Poplar Branch, NC

The affordability dashboard for Poplar Branch, NC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 527 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (36/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $63,542, median home value of $334,000, median rent of — per month, and 6.4% 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 $1,713 per month (studio $1,492, 1BR $1,512, 3BR $2,376, 4BR $2,797). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,947 per year, consuming 14% 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 18.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.