Metro Life Score
Athens-Clarke County, GA
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 52nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.2
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #185
- of 387 metros
- 52%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Athens-Clarke County is above-median composite Life Score — #185 of 387 (50.2/100, grade B-, 52nd percentile). Carried by childcare at 98/100; held back most by wages at 32/100.
- 52nd
- composite percentile
- #185
- of 387 peers
- 52nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 32nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature wages
Athens-Clarke County: wage lag defines the peer set
Athens-Clarke County is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 32nd percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (52nd) and composite #185. Wages at 32/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (98/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Athens-Clarke County, GA ranks #185 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #187 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.3 (rent-RPP 76.8). BLS median salary $61,371, 82,710 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,331/mo (studio $1,159).
FBI UCR (GA): 300 violent, 1567 property/100K. NCES: 13.8:1 ratio, 4.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,591/yr. EPA: 23 Superfund sites (GA).
Where Athens-Clarke County sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
50 52nd percentile higher than 52% 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 50.2 is built
Athens-Clarke County's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Athens-Clarke County scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are GA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Athens-Clarke County With...
Ranking Context
Athens-Clarke County outranks 52% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #182 | Florence, SC | 50.3 | B- |
| #183 | El Centro, CA | 50.3 | B- |
| #184 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 50.4 | B- |
| #185 | Athens-Clarke County, GA | 50.2 | B- |
| #186 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 50.1 | B- |
| #187 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 50.1 | B- |
| #188 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 50.0 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Athens-Clarke County, GA's quality rank (top 48% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 48% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
GA Metro Scores
Read with Athens-Clarke County
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Athens-Clarke County (MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
El Centro, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Florence, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 50.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 50.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 50.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Akron, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 52/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Morgantown, WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 52/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Athens-Clarke County, GA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Athens-Clarke County's middle-third Life Score
Athens-Clarke County scores 50.2/100 overall, but Childcare (97.6) and Wages (31.9) sit 65.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Athens-Clarke County'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
- Dalton is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Dalton
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.