Whitney, TX

The affordability dashboard for Whitney, TX aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 1 ZIP code covering 10,115 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C- (51/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $55,149, median home value of $169,100, median rent of $877 per month, and 21.5% 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 $1,023 per month (studio $705, 1BR $802, 3BR $1,397, 4BR $1,716). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $6,968 per year, consuming 13% 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 5.1% and poverty 16.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.