Metro Life Score
Albany, GA
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 85th percentile of the national corpus.
- 59.1
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #59
- of 387 metros
- 85%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Albany is top-quartile composite Life Score — #59 of 387 (59.1/100, grade A-, 85th percentile). Carried by childcare at 98/100; held back most by wages at 18/100.
- 85th
- composite percentile
- #59
- of 387 peers
- 89th
- cost dimension percentile
- 18th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature cost
Albany: affordability leads the Life Score story
Albany is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 89th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #59 (59.1/100, grade A-). Childcare at 98/100 carries the upside; Wages at 18/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Albany, GA ranks #59 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #43 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.7 (rent-RPP 54.6). BLS median salary $58,830, 49,030 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,129/mo (studio $966).
FBI UCR (GA): 300 violent, 1567 property/100K. NCES: 13.8:1 ratio, 4.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,591/yr. EPA: 23 Superfund sites (GA).
Where Albany sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
59 Top 15% higher than 85% 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 59.1 is built
Albany's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Albany scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are GA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Albany With...
Ranking Context
Albany outranks 85% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #56 | Boise City, ID | 59.2 | A- |
| #57 | Peoria, IL | 59.5 | A- |
| #58 | Winston-Salem, NC | 59.6 | A- |
| #59 | Albany, GA | 59.1 | A- |
| #60 | Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 58.9 | A- |
| #61 | Johnstown, PA | 58.9 | A- |
| #62 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 58.9 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Albany, GA's quality rank (top 15% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 11% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
GA Metro Scores
Read with Albany
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Albany (UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Boise City, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 59.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 58.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Johnstown, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 58.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 58.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Hattiesburg, MS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 89/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 89/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Albany, GA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Albany's top-third Life Score
Albany scores 59.1/100 overall, but Childcare (97.9) and Wages (17.6) sit 80.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Albany'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
- Dalton is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Dalton
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.