Portage, MI

The affordability dashboard for Portage, MI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 47,338 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B+ (75/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $84,177, median home value of $259,066, median rent of $1,126 per month, and 47.7% 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 $1,162 per month (studio $838, 1BR $998, 3BR $1,531, 4BR $1,571). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,320 per year, consuming 10% 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. Strengths visible in the raw data for Portage, MI include education, commute, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.3% and poverty 7.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.