Metro Life Score

Athens-Clarke County, GA

Compiled byPlainCompare Editorial, PlainCompare Editorial Team · Updated May 16, 2026

44.6
Life Score / 100: C
Grade (curved): #273
of 387 metros: 29%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Athens ranks #273 of 387 US metros, ahead of 29% - carried by its childcare (98/100) and held back most by environment (4/100).

98
strongest: Childcare: 56
then: Safety: 4
weakest: Environment: 7
weighted dimensions

Where Athens sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

45 29th percentile higher than 29% 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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Athens Life Score

Athens's composite score of 44.6 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #273 of 387, ahead of 29% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Childcare (98/100) and Safety (56/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (4/100) and Wages (27/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.4:1 ratio, 4.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,591/yr. EPA: 23 Superfund sites (GA). Ranks #270-#276 below.

Dimension detail

How Athens scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 52/100 (20%)

Wages 27/100 (20%)

Rent 47/100 (15%)

Safety 56/100 (15%)

Schools 32/100 (10%)

Childcare 98/100 (10%)

Environment 4/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.3

Cost Index (RPP)

$61,371

Avg Median Salary

$1,331

2BR Fair Market Rent

300

Violent Crime/100K (GA)

14.4:1

Student-Teacher Ratio

$6,591

Infant Childcare/yr (GA)

Superfund Sites (GA)

82,710

Total Employment

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

Compare Athens With...

Athens vs Valdosta Compare → Athens vs Dalton Compare → Athens vs Warner Robins Compare → Athens vs Wildwood Compare → Athens vs Waterloo Compare → Athens vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Athens outranks 29% of U.S. metros.

Rank	Metro	Score	Grade
#270	Springfield, MA	44.8	C
#271	Pittsfield, MA	45.0	C
#272	Jonesboro, AR	45.1	C
#273	Athens-Clarke County, GA	44.6	C
#274	Charlottesville, VA	44.6	C
#275	Cape Girardeau, MO-IL	44.5	C
#276	Columbia, MO	44.5	C

GA Metro Scores

Valdosta, GA B+ 57.7 Dalton, GA B+ 56.9 Warner Robins, GA B+ 55.6 Rome, GA B+ 55.5 Columbus, GA-AL B 55.1 Albany, GA B 54.3

Using Athens's Life Score

Athens 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 childcare (98/100) and its weakest is environment (4/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
Put Athens head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
See where Athens 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 Athens's biggest strengths? ▼

Athens's strongest dimensions are Childcare (98/100), Safety (56/100), Cost of Living (52/100). Childcare is top-tier nationally.

What are Athens's weakest areas? ▼

Athens's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (4/100), Wages (27/100), Schools (32/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.

How expensive is Athens compared to the national average? ▼

Athens's Regional Price Parity is 93.3 (6.7% less than national); rent RPP 76.8.

What is the average salary in Athens? ▼

Athens median salary: $61,371, 82,710 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.

How is the life score calculated? ▼

Athens's 44.6/100 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.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

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.