Ruth, MS

The affordability dashboard for Ruth, MS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,318 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (5/100). The headline inputs are median household income of —, median home value of $76,600, median rent of — per month, and 4.5% 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 $852 per month (studio $645, 1BR $649, 3BR $1,126, 4BR $1,129). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $6,037 per year.

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. Unemployment currently reads 9.6% and poverty 16.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.