Financial Pulse instrument
Affordability
Cost-of-living pressure
Measures cost-of-living pressure: how prices, housing, borrowing costs, and purchasing power are affecting household budgets.
Updated Weekly
The Financial Pulse
The economic numbers that actually affect your household — in one place.
Financial Pulse instrument
Labor Market
Employment conditions
Measures employment conditions using unemployment, workforce participation, and initial unemployment claims.
These readings answer different questions. They may diverge sharply—as they did in 2020—and are never averaged into one number.
Inflation 3.29%
Unemployment 4.3%
Housing 32.5%
Wage Gap —
Credit 7.1/10
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Household Finances
Housing Snapshot
Median Home Price
$405,300
National median · Oct 2025
Est. Monthly Payment
$2,270
30yr @ 6.35% · 20% down
Shelter / Rent CPI
+5.2%
YoY rent inflation · Mar 2026
Mortgage Burden
32.5%
% of median household income
Labor Market & Macro
Compare Places
State context
Compare States
Put broad state conditions side by side, including work, income, housing, and economic pressure.
Open State Comparison → Direct comparisonCompare Cities
Compare annual Census context for two cities on the same scale.
Open City Comparison → City discoveryExplore US Cities
Search 500 major U.S. cities, see comparable places, and carry the context into your next decision.
Open City Explorer →Financial Tools & Calculators
Mortgage Affordability
Payment, payoff, and refi math on principal & interest — plus an affordability mode that solves your monthly budget against taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA, and maintenance, with state-specific, sourced, editable defaults. See what payment-only calculators overstate.
Debt Payoff Planner
List your real debts, set an extra monthly amount, and compare Avalanche vs Snowball: debt-free date, total interest saved versus minimums, and which balance to hit first. Your debt list follows you into your personal payoff plan.
Budget Stress Test
Start from 50/30/20, then move the sliders to what your life actually costs. See the dollar effect of every point you shift, get warned when the split exceeds your income, and feed your budget into your personal Pulse.
Consumer Rate Environment
Economic Pulse
Labor & Wages
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