Safford, AZ

The affordability dashboard for Safford, AZ aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 19,677 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (52/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $61,832, median home value of $199,800, median rent of $981 per month, and 13.1% 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 $1,244 per month (studio $887, 1BR $991, 3BR $1,669, 4BR $2,087). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $11,180 per year, consuming 18% 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 5.9% and poverty 15.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.