Shaftsbury, VT

The affordability dashboard for Shaftsbury, VT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,547 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (61/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $71,417, median home value of $253,600, median rent of $1,077 per month, and 34.9% 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 $1,297 per month (studio $1,020, 1BR $1,142, 3BR $1,804, 4BR $2,159).

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 Shaftsbury, VT include rent. Unemployment currently reads 4.0% and poverty 8.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.