Watertown, WI

The affordability dashboard for Watertown, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 2 ZIP codes covering 31,134 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (57/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $73,823, median home value of $243,687, median rent of $1,044 per month, and 20.2% 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 $1,156 per month (studio $797, 1BR $917, 3BR $1,530, 4BR $1,536). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $12,272 per year, consuming 17% 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 Watertown, WI include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 5.0% and poverty 8.9% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.