Wawaka, IN

The affordability dashboard for Wawaka, IN aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,587 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $63,583, median home value of $211,000, median rent of $1,016 per month, and 16.1% 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 $967 per month (studio $682, 1BR $737, 3BR $1,159, 4BR $1,622).

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 Wawaka, IN include rent. Pressure points are education. Unemployment currently reads 6.6% and poverty 24.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.