Ward, AL

The affordability dashboard for Ward, AL aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 656 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (34/100). The headline inputs are median household income of —, median home value of $104,500, median rent of — per month, and 22.3% 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 $778 per month (studio $578, 1BR $616, 3BR $1,024, 4BR $1,179). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,050 per year.

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 education. Unemployment currently reads 0.0% and poverty 9.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.