Salem, OH

The affordability dashboard for Salem, OH aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 26,732 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 $57,423, median home value of $163,500, median rent of $765 per month, and 20.1% 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 $973 per month (studio $693, 1BR $779, 3BR $1,218, 4BR $1,288). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,025 per year, consuming 16% 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 Salem, OH include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 6.4% and poverty 13.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.