Metro Life Score
Amarillo, TX
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 75th percentile of the national corpus.
- 55.9
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #95
- of 387 metros
- 75%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Amarillo is top-quartile composite Life Score — #95 of 387 (55.9/100, grade B+, 75th percentile). Carried by environment at 84/100; held back most by wages at 26/100.
- 75th
- composite percentile
- #95
- of 387 peers
- 64th
- cost dimension percentile
- 26th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Amarillo: top-third composite Life Score
Amarillo clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#95 of 387, 55.9/100, grade B+, 75th percentile). Stamps UPPER · ENVIRO-LED; cost MID (64th) · wages LOW (26th). Environment at 84/100 carries the lead; Wages (26/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Amarillo, TX ranks #95 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #140 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.8 (rent-RPP 78.4). BLS median salary $60,424, 113,150 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,106/mo (studio $778).
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 Amarillo sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
56 Top 25% higher than 75% 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 55.9 is built
Amarillo's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Amarillo 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 Amarillo With...
Ranking Context
Amarillo outranks 75% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #92 | Tulsa, OK | 56.0 | B+ |
| #93 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 56.0 | B+ |
| #94 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 56.3 | B+ |
| #95 | Amarillo, TX | 55.9 | B+ |
| #96 | Montgomery, AL | 55.9 | B+ |
| #97 | Lubbock, TX | 55.8 | B+ |
| #98 | Muncie, IN | 55.7 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Amarillo, TX's quality rank (top 25% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 36% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
TX Metro Scores
Read with Amarillo
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Amarillo (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Montgomery, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 55.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Lubbock, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 56.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Tulsa, OK
ABS(composite) peer at 56.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 64/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Jackson, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 64/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Amarillo, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Amarillo's top-third Life Score
Amarillo scores 55.9/100 overall, but Environment (83.7) and Wages (25.6) sit 58.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Amarillo'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 high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.