Waterford, CT

The affordability dashboard for Waterford, CT aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 15,893 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (68/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $100,484, median home value of $365,400, median rent of $1,666 per month, and 42.3% 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 $1,625 per month (studio $1,114, 1BR $1,326, 3BR $2,107, 4BR $2,723). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,080 per year, consuming 15% 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 Waterford, CT include income, education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 5.6% and poverty 5.0% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.