Springfield, IL

The affordability dashboard for Springfield, IL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 7 ZIP codes covering 141,894 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (69/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $69,308, median home value of $159,832, median rent of $1,004 per month, and 33.9% 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 $1,203 per month (studio $829, 1BR $970, 3BR $1,611, 4BR $1,682). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $10,185 per year, consuming 15% 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 Springfield, IL include housing, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 7.0% and poverty 17.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.