Shelby, MT

The affordability dashboard for Shelby, MT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 3,820 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (45/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $57,846, median home value of $233,100, median rent of $892 per month, and 21.6% 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 $1,230 per month (studio $918, 1BR $1,052, 3BR $1,702, 4BR $1,712). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,721 per year, consuming 19% 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, housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 3.4% and poverty 12.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.