Waukesha, WI

The affordability dashboard for Waukesha, WI aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 3 ZIP codes covering 95,015 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of B- (67/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $92,899, median home value of $347,707, median rent of $1,237 per month, and 43.6% 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 $1,338 per month (studio $1,027, 1BR $1,119, 3BR $1,648, 4BR $1,784). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,236 per year, consuming 16% 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 Waukesha, WI include income, education, rent. Unemployment currently reads 2.4% and poverty 8.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.