Metro Life Score
Abilene, TX
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 56th percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.8
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #171
- of 387 metros
- 56%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Abilene is above-median composite Life Score — #171 of 387 (50.8/100, grade B-, 56th percentile). Carried by environment at 83/100; held back most by wages at 12/100.
- 56th
- composite percentile
- #171
- of 387 peers
- 73rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 12th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Abilene: wage lag defines the peer set
Abilene is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 12th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (73rd) and composite #171. Wages at 12/100 is the clearest drag; Environment (83/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Abilene, TX ranks #171 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #106 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 90.4 (rent-RPP 73.8). BLS median salary $57,653, 68,490 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,276/mo (studio $1,010).
FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 11.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX).
Where Abilene sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
51 56th percentile higher than 56% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · August 2026
How the 50.8 is built
Abilene's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Abilene scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TX state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Abilene With...
Ranking Context
Abilene outranks 56% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #168 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 51.0 | B- |
| #169 | Richmond, VA | 51.2 | B- |
| #170 | Fort Wayne, IN | 51.2 | B- |
| #171 | Abilene, TX | 50.8 | B- |
| #172 | Gainesville, FL | 50.8 | B- |
| #173 | Logan, UT-ID | 50.8 | B- |
| #174 | Longview-Kelso, WA | 50.8 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Abilene, TX is top 44% highest-quality nationally and also top 27% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
TX Metro Scores
Read with Abilene
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Abilene (MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Gainesville, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Logan, UT-ID
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Longview-Kelso, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Midland, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 50.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Oklahoma City, OK (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 73/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Elkhart-Goshen, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 73/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Abilene, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Abilene's middle-third Life Score
Abilene scores 50.8/100 overall, but Environment (83.4) and Wages (11.9) sit 71.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Abilene's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Beaumont is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Beaumont
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.