Talkeetna, AK

The affordability dashboard for Talkeetna, AK aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,546 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (35/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $54,028, median home value of $271,400, median rent of $975 per month, and 25.1% 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 $1,376 per month (studio $1,015, 1BR $1,049, 3BR $1,914, 4BR $2,308). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,957 per year, consuming 24% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 5.0% and poverty 17.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.