PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Amarillo, TX

45.7
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#260
of 387 metros
33%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Amarillo ranks #260 of 387 US metros, ahead of 33% - carried by its rent (80/100) and held back most by environment (2/100).

80
strongest: Rent
79
then: Childcare
2
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Amarillo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 33th percentile higher than 33% 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 Amarillo Life Score

Amarillo's composite score of 45.7 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #260 of 387, ahead of 33% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (80/100) and Childcare (79/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (2/100) and Wages (20/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #257-#263 below.

Dimension detail

How Amarillo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 64/100 (20%)
Wages 20/100 (20%)
Rent 80/100 (15%)
Safety 35/100 (15%)
Schools 35/100 (10%)
Childcare 79/100 (10%)
Environment 2/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$60,424
Avg Median Salary
$1,106
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
113,150
Total Employment

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

Compare Amarillo With...

Amarillo vs Texarkana Compare → Amarillo vs Waco Compare → Amarillo vs San Antonio Compare → Amarillo vs Wildwood Compare → Amarillo vs Waterloo Compare → Amarillo vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Amarillo outranks 33% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#257 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 45.8 C+
#258 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 45.8 C+
#259 Tucson, AZ 46.0 C+
#260 Amarillo, TX 45.7 C+
#261 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 45.7 C+
#262 Farmington, NM 45.7 C+
#263 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 45.7 C+

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using Amarillo's Life Score

Amarillo 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 rent (80/100) and its weakest is environment (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Amarillo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Amarillo 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 Amarillo's biggest strengths? ▼
Amarillo's strongest dimensions are Rent (80/100), Childcare (79/100), Cost of Living (64/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Amarillo's weakest areas? ▼
Amarillo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (2/100), Wages (20/100), Schools (35/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Amarillo compared to the national average? ▼
Amarillo's Regional Price Parity is 91.8 (8.2% less than national); rent RPP 78.4.
What is the average salary in Amarillo? ▼
Amarillo median salary: $60,424, 113,150 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Amarillo's 45.7/100 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.