Ridgeland, SC

The affordability dashboard for Ridgeland, SC aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 13,354 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (34/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $48,986, median home value of $216,800, median rent of $1,295 per month, and 15.8% 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 $1,542 per month (studio $1,343, 1BR $1,407, 3BR $1,849, 4BR $2,246). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,774 per year, consuming 12% 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 income, education, housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 6.6% and poverty 20.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.