Underwood, IA

The affordability dashboard for Underwood, IA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,110 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B+ (75/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $110,476, median home value of $305,400, median rent of $1,172 per month, and 31.1% 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 $1,368 per month (studio $1,090, 1BR $1,148, 3BR $1,813, 4BR $2,046). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $8,758 per year, consuming 8% 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 Underwood, IA include income, housing, rent, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 3.5% and poverty 1.7% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.