Waterloo, NE

The affordability dashboard for Waterloo, NE aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 2,558 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B (73/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $111,974, median home value of $365,100, median rent of $1,382 per month, and 40.5% 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 $1,368 per month (studio $1,090, 1BR $1,148, 3BR $1,813, 4BR $2,046). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,675 per year, consuming 11% 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 Waterloo, NE include income, rent. Unemployment currently reads 8.4% and poverty 3.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.