Metro Life Score
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 51st percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.8
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #191
- of 387 metros
- 51%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos is above-median composite Life Score — #191 of 387 (49.8/100, grade B-, 51st percentile). Carried by environment at 84/100; held back most by rent at 12/100.
- 51st
- composite percentile
- #191
- of 387 peers
- 29th
- cost dimension percentile
- 81st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos: pay power is the signature
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos stamps MID · ENVIRO-LED with wages at the 81st percentile of the metro corpus (HIGH) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 29th) and composite #191. Environment (84/100) amplifies the lead; Rent (12/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX ranks #191 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #275 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 98.1 (rent-RPP 120.4). BLS median salary $71,789, 1,265,270 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives). HUD 2BR FMR $1,852/mo (studio $1,474).
FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 11.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX).
Where Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
50 51st percentile higher than 51% 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 49.8 is built
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TX state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos With...
Ranking Context
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos outranks 51% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #188 | Ogden, UT | 49.9 | B- |
| #189 | Goldsboro, NC | 49.9 | B- |
| #190 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 50.0 | B- |
| #191 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 49.8 | B- |
| #192 | Fort Smith, AR-OK | 49.8 | B- |
| #193 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 49.8 | B- |
| #194 | Bangor, ME | 49.7 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX is top 49% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 29% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
TX Metro Scores
Read with Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos (MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Fort Smith, AR-OK
ABS(composite) peer at 49.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 49.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Bangor, ME
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Bloomington, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 29/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Carson City, NV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 29/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos's middle-third Life Score
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos scores 49.8/100 overall, but Environment (83.9) and Rent (12.4) sit 71.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos'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
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Beaumont is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Beaumont
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.