Van Lear, KY

The affordability dashboard for Van Lear, KY aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,857 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (36/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $35,833, median home value of $157,400, median rent of $795 per month, and 27.8% 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 $866 per month (studio $619, 1BR $696, 3BR $1,154, 4BR $1,280). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $5,895 per year, consuming 16% 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 income, housing. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 18.0% - numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.