Worcester, MA

The affordability dashboard for Worcester, MA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 9 ZIP codes covering 181,315 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of D (44/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $70,314, median home value of $368,382, median rent of $1,487 per month, and 35.2% 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 $1,749 per month (studio $1,206, 1BR $1,410, 3BR $2,247, 4BR $2,637). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $20,296 per year, consuming 29% 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 housing, childcare. Unemployment currently reads 6.6% and poverty 19.8% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.