Salem, NJ

The affordability dashboard for Salem, NJ aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 10,987 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 $54,641, median home value of $196,700, median rent of $1,113 per month, and 20.6% 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 $1,810 per month (studio $1,397, 1BR $1,520, 3BR $2,170, 4BR $2,423). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $14,789 per year, consuming 27% 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, commute, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.9% and poverty 15.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.