Putnam, CT

The affordability dashboard for Putnam, CT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 9,510 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (47/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $70,502, median home value of $269,500, median rent of $1,149 per month, and 19.9% 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 $1,600 per month (studio $1,135, 1BR $1,220, 3BR $1,958, 4BR $2,344). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,080 per year, consuming 21% 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, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 4.4% and poverty 11.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.