Waterford, MS

The affordability dashboard for Waterford, MS aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,347 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of F (37/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $41,210, median home value of $124,100, median rent of — per month, and 3.8% 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 $1,110 per month (studio $840, 1BR $846, 3BR $1,331, 4BR $1,835). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $7,929 per year, consuming 19% 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, education, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.2% and poverty 19.4% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.