West Paris, ME

The affordability dashboard for West Paris, ME aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 1,815 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (45/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $56,324, median home value of $193,000, median rent of $838 per month, and 23.1% 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 $1,295 per month (studio $893, 1BR $989, 3BR $1,801, 4BR $2,172). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $9,100 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. Pressure points are education, commute. Unemployment currently reads 4.5% and poverty 24.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.