Salina, KS

The affordability dashboard for Salina, KS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 51,499 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (70/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $64,606, median home value of $180,200, median rent of $960 per month, and 29.3% 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 $1,009 per month (studio $765, 1BR $770, 3BR $1,222, 4BR $1,336). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $4,971 per year, consuming 8% 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 Salina, KS include housing, commute, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.1% and poverty 12.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.