PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Ann Arbor, MI

44.0
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#282
of 387 metros
27%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Ann Arbor ranks #282 of 387 US metros, ahead of 27% - carried by its wages (89/100) and held back most by environment (3/100).

89
strongest: Wages
83
then: Childcare
3
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Ann Arbor sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

44 27th percentile higher than 27% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 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 Ann Arbor Life Score

Ann Arbor's composite score of 44.0 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #282 of 387, ahead of 27% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (89/100) and Childcare (83/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (3/100) and Cost of Living (18/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 100.9 (rent-RPP 125.3). BLS median salary $73,158, 207,930 jobs (Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, Registered Nurses, Office Clerks, General). HUD 2BR FMR $1,656/mo (studio $1,365).

FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 17.5:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI). Ranks #279-#285 below.

Dimension detail

How Ann Arbor scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 18/100 (20%)
Wages 89/100 (20%)
Rent 23/100 (15%)
Safety 20/100 (15%)
Schools 74/100 (10%)
Childcare 83/100 (10%)
Environment 3/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$73,158
Avg Median Salary
$1,656
2BR Fair Market Rent
431
Violent Crime/100K (MI)
17.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,444
Infant Childcare/yr (MI)
90
Superfund Sites (MI)
207,930
Total Employment

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

Compare Ann Arbor With...

Ann Arbor vs Midland Compare → Ann Arbor vs Saginaw Compare → Ann Arbor vs Niles Compare → Ann Arbor vs Wildwood Compare → Ann Arbor vs Waterloo Compare → Ann Arbor vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Ann Arbor outranks 27% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#279 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 44.2 C
#280 Lebanon, PA 44.2 C
#281 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 44.3 C
#282 Ann Arbor, MI 44.0 C
#283 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 43.7 C
#284 Redding, CA 43.7 C
#285 New Haven, CT 43.6 C

MI Metro Scores

Midland, MI A 62.6 Saginaw, MI A- 59.9 Niles, MI B+ 56.5 Jackson, MI B+ 56.2 Flint, MI B+ 56.1 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI B+ 55.6

Using Ann Arbor's Life Score

Ann Arbor 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 wages (89/100) and its weakest is environment (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Ann Arbor head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Ann Arbor 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 Ann Arbor's biggest strengths? ▼
Ann Arbor's strongest dimensions are Wages (89/100), Childcare (83/100), Schools (74/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Ann Arbor's weakest areas? ▼
Ann Arbor's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (3/100), Cost of Living (18/100), Safety (20/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Ann Arbor compared to the national average? ▼
Ann Arbor's Regional Price Parity is 100.9 (0.9% more than national); rent RPP 125.3.
What is the average salary in Ann Arbor? ▼
Ann Arbor median salary: $73,158, 207,930 jobs. Top: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, Registered Nurses, Office Clerks, General.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Ann Arbor's 44.0/100 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.