State College composite
43.7 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
State College vs Wildwood
State College, PA and Wildwood-The Villages, FL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 43.7
- State College Life Score
- C
- State College grade
- 67.0
- Wildwood Life Score
- A+
- Wildwood grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, State College scores higher on 1 (environment) and Wildwood on 6 (cost of living, wages, rent, safety, schools, childcare). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ State College Wildwood ◗
cost of living
34
98
wages
40
47
rent
38
48
safety
74
91
schools
22
88
childcare
0
46
environment
54
39
State College and Wildwood differ across eleven dimensions of livability. State College has a cost-of-living index of 96.8 vs Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $62,669 in State College and $63,776 in Wildwood. A 2-bedroom averages $1,406/mo vs $1,328/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the State College vs Wildwood Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between State College and Wildwood works out to $936 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in State College carries the same local purchasing power as $88,283 in Wildwood - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 249.5 per 100,000 residents in PA vs 210.3 in FL, with property-crime rates of 1457.1 and 1030.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: PA lists 2,930 public schools at a 13.0:1 student-teacher ratio, while FL lists 4,029 schools at 17.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, State College and Wildwood are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Wildwood composite
67.0 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
15 pts
State College cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
17 pts
Wildwood safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
State College
State College composite (Grade C)
Wildwood
Wildwood composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | State College | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 96.8 | 85.4 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 96.2 |
| Services | 109.5 | 89.0 |
| Rents | 85.7 | 51.7 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Wildwood gives the same purchasing power as your salary in State College?
$
Equivalent in Wildwood:
$88,283
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (State College: 96.8, Wildwood: 85.4, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | State College | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,187/mo | $1,076/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,194/mo | $1,139/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,406/mo | $1,328/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,760/mo | $1,655/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,862/mo | $1,937/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | State College | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $62,669 | $63,776 |
| Total Employment | 54,000 | 34,870 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | State College (PA) | Wildwood (FL) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 249.5 | 210.3 |
| Property Crime | 1457.1 | 1030.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | PA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,930 | 4,029 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.0:1 | 17.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.0% | 18.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | PA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,261 | 864 |
| Water Systems | 1,783 | 1,513 |
| Superfund Sites | 127 | 81 |
| Water Violations | 5,292 | 2,736 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | State College | Wildwood |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 40.7 |
| Good Air Days | 74.3% | 77.5% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 1 days | N/A |
Wildwood air quality shown at state level. State College has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | PA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 4/100 | 9/100 |
| Total Violations | 1,159,868 | 184,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 68,517 | 24,266 |
| Systems with Violations | 97.1% | 93.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | PA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 90/100 | 92/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 9.7% | 8.2% |
| HPSA Designations | 402 | 637 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | PA | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 40/100 | 29/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 67.4 | 75.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 66.6 | 72.9 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is State College more expensive than Wildwood? ▼
State College has a cost of living index of 96.8 compared to Wildwood's 85.4 (national average = 100). State College is 11.3 points above Wildwood on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between State College and Wildwood? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,406/mo in State College vs $1,328/mo in Wildwood, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,187/mo to $1,076/mo.
How do salaries compare between State College and Wildwood? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $62,669 in State College and $63,776 in Wildwood, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in State College has the same purchasing power as $88,283 in Wildwood.
Is State College or Wildwood safer? ▼
At the state level, PA has a violent crime rate of 249.5 per 100,000 residents compared to FL's 210.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1457.1 vs 1030.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between State College and Wildwood? ▼
PA has 2,930 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.0:1, while FL has 4,029 schools at 17.8:1. Charter schools make up 6.0% of PA schools vs 18.0% in FL. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare