Troy, NY

The affordability dashboard for Troy, NY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 70,959 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $71,327, median home value of $233,880, median rent of $1,177 per month, and 38.3% 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 $1,702 per month (studio $1,217, 1BR $1,417, 3BR $2,041, 4BR $2,253). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,028 per year, consuming 21% 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 childcare. Unemployment currently reads 7.6% and poverty 18.2% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.