Valdez, AK

The affordability dashboard for Valdez, AK aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 4,005 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B+ (77/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $99,349, median home value of $312,200, median rent of $1,481 per month, and 31.9% 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 $1,150 per month (studio $764, 1BR $987, 3BR $1,422, 4BR $1,968).

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 Valdez, AK include income, commute, rent. Unemployment currently reads 9.8% and poverty 5.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.