Searcy, AR

The affordability dashboard for Searcy, AR aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 35,169 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (62/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $58,344, median home value of $181,300, median rent of $904 per month, and 27.7% 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 $880 per month (studio $630, 1BR $734, 3BR $1,149, 4BR $1,165).

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 Searcy, AR include commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 5.3% and poverty 17.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.