Riley, KS

The affordability dashboard for Riley, KS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,380 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (70/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $79,063, median home value of $188,000, median rent of $1,203 per month, and 31.4% 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 $1,068 per month (studio $870, 1BR $875, 3BR $1,485, 4BR $1,792). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,181 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 Riley, KS include housing, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.0% and poverty 3.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.