PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Appleton, WI

51.6
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#174
of 387 metros
55%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Appleton ranks #174 of 387 US metros, ahead of 55% - carried by its safety (63/100) and held back most by environment (4/100).

63
strongest: Safety
60
then: Cost of Living
4
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Appleton sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 55th percentile higher than 55% 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%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Appleton Life Score

Appleton's composite score of 51.6 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #174 of 387, ahead of 55% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (63/100) and Cost of Living (60/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (4/100) and Childcare (43/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.4 (rent-RPP 70.8). BLS median salary $65,438, 117,960 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,236/mo (studio $858).

FBI UCR (WI): 280 violent, 1157 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 10.7% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,256/yr. EPA: 46 Superfund sites (WI). Ranks #171-#177 below.

Dimension detail

How Appleton scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 60/100 (20%)
Wages 60/100 (20%)
Rent 59/100 (15%)
Safety 63/100 (15%)
Schools 46/100 (10%)
Childcare 43/100 (10%)
Environment 4/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$65,438
Avg Median Salary
$1,236
2BR Fair Market Rent
280
Violent Crime/100K (WI)
14.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,256
Infant Childcare/yr (WI)
46
Superfund Sites (WI)
117,960
Total Employment

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

Compare Appleton With...

Appleton vs Wausau Compare → Appleton vs Duluth Compare → Appleton vs Oshkosh Compare → Appleton vs Wildwood Compare → Appleton vs Waterloo Compare → Appleton vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Appleton outranks 55% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#171 Joplin, MO-KS 51.7 B-
#172 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 51.9 B-
#173 College Station-Bryan, TX 52.0 B-
#174 Appleton, WI 51.6 B-
#175 Casper, WY 51.5 B-
#176 Cheyenne, WY 51.5 B-
#177 Brunswick-St. Simons, GA 51.4 B-

WI Metro Scores

Wausau, WI A- 61.1 Duluth, MN-WI A- 60.2 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI A- 60.1 Sheboygan, WI A- 59.8 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN A- 59.1 Madison, WI B+ 56.9

Using Appleton's Life Score

Appleton 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 safety (63/100) and its weakest is environment (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Appleton head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Appleton 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 Appleton's biggest strengths? ▼
Appleton's strongest dimensions are Safety (63/100), Cost of Living (60/100), Wages (60/100).
What are Appleton's weakest areas? ▼
Appleton's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (4/100), Childcare (43/100), Schools (46/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Appleton compared to the national average? ▼
Appleton's Regional Price Parity is 92.4 (7.6% less than national); rent RPP 70.8.
What is the average salary in Appleton? ▼
Appleton median salary: $65,438, 117,960 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Appleton's 51.6/100 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.