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Rating

Housing Affordability

Scale55-100

Higher values are better.

About This Ranking

Goal

Highlight places that perform well across four audited renter and owner signals, balancing low typical costs with income-relative affordability and giving each tenure equal total weight.

Sources

Data behind the rating

5 sources

2020–2024 U.S. Census ACS 5-Year — Gross Rent

2020–2024 estimates; released January 29, 2026
Data
Place-level median gross rent and its published 90% margin of error. Gross rent combines contract rent with estimated renter-paid utilities and fuels.
What it tells us
Shows how low a community's typical monthly gross rent is on a stable national dollar scale.

2020–2024 U.S. Census ACS 5-Year — Median Gross-Rent Burden

2020–2024 estimates; released January 29, 2026
Data
Place-level median of household-level gross-rent-to-income percentages for renter-occupied units paying cash rent, plus its published 90% margin of error.
What it tells us
Shows the typical cash-rent renter household's gross-rent share of income directly, rather than dividing two unrelated place medians.

2020–2024 U.S. Census ACS 5-Year — Median Household Income

2020–2024 estimates; released January 29, 2026
Data
Direct place-level median household income in the past 12 months, in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, with the published 90% margin of error. A verified upper-bound estimate is reported as above $250,000 rather than as an exact value.
What it tells us
Shows income received by the householder and other household members age 15+ from reported earnings and non-earnings sources; it does not directly measure individual salary, local jobs, or purchasing power.

2020–2024 U.S. Census ACS 5-Year — Owner-Occupied Home Value

2020–2024 estimates; released January 29, 2026
Data
Place-level median respondent-reported value for owner-occupied housing units, its published 90% margin of error, and the estimated owner-occupied-unit universe.
What it tells us
Shows how low the typical reported value of the existing owner-occupied stock is on a stable 2024-dollar scale, with weak survey evidence pulled toward neutral.

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Ranked by Housing Affordability.

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