PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Altoona, PA

47.5
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#227
of 387 metros
41%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Altoona ranks #227 of 387 US metros, ahead of 41% - carried by its cost of living (77/100) and held back most by environment (2/100).

77
strongest: Cost of Living
75
then: Rent
2
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Altoona sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

48 41th percentile higher than 41% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Altoona Life Score

Altoona's composite score of 47.5 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #227 of 387, ahead of 41% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (77/100) and Rent (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (2/100) and Schools (15/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 89.5 (rent-RPP 55.0). BLS median salary $57,335, 52,800 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,138/mo (studio $802).

FBI UCR (PA): 250 violent, 1457 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA). Ranks #224-#230 below.

Dimension detail

How Altoona scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 77/100 (20%)
Wages 18/100 (20%)
Rent 75/100 (15%)
Safety 71/100 (15%)
Schools 15/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 2/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,335
Avg Median Salary
$1,138
2BR Fair Market Rent
250
Violent Crime/100K (PA)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
127
Superfund Sites (PA)
52,800
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Altoona With...

Altoona vs Johnstown Compare → Altoona vs Williamsport Compare → Altoona vs Pittsburgh Compare → Altoona vs Wildwood Compare → Altoona vs Waterloo Compare → Altoona vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Altoona outranks 41% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#224 Salem, OR 47.6 C+
#225 Victoria, TX 47.7 C+
#226 Port St. Lucie, FL 47.7 C+
#227 Altoona, PA 47.5 C+
#228 Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL 47.5 C+
#229 Columbus, IN 47.4 C+
#230 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 47.4 C+

PA Metro Scores

Johnstown, PA B+ 56.4 Williamsport, PA B 54.7 Pittsburgh, PA B 54.0 York-Hanover, PA B 52.7 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA B- 51.9 State College, PA B- 49.9

Using Altoona's Life Score

Altoona is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (77/100) and its weakest is environment (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Altoona head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Altoona lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Altoona's biggest strengths? ▼
Altoona's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (77/100), Rent (75/100), Safety (71/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Altoona's weakest areas? ▼
Altoona's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (2/100), Schools (15/100), Wages (18/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Altoona compared to the national average? ▼
Altoona's Regional Price Parity is 89.5 (10.5% less than national); rent RPP 55.0.
What is the average salary in Altoona? ▼
Altoona median salary: $57,335, 52,800 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Altoona's 47.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.