Springfield, MA

The affordability dashboard for Springfield, MA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 10 ZIP codes covering 144,116 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (33/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $52,879, median home value of $239,755, median rent of $1,155 per month, and 20.2% 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 $1,734 per month (studio $1,219, 1BR $1,382, 3BR $2,127, 4BR $2,296). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $17,160 per year, consuming 32% 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, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 9.2% and poverty 26.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.