Salem, IN

The affordability dashboard for Salem, IN aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 15,014 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $60,673, median home value of $173,600, median rent of $750 per month, and 14.4% 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 $988 per month (studio $749, 1BR $753, 3BR $1,185, 4BR $1,308).

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 Salem, IN include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 5.2% and poverty 16.5% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.