PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

40.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#319
of 387 metros
18%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Austin ranks #319 of 387 US metros, ahead of 18% - carried by its wages (78/100) and held back most by environment (6/100).

78
strongest: Wages
78
then: Childcare
6
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Austin sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 18th percentile higher than 18% 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 Austin Life Score

Austin's composite score of 40.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #319 of 387, ahead of 18% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (78/100) and Childcare (78/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (6/100) and Rent (12/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #316-#322 below.

Dimension detail

How Austin scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 29/100 (20%)
Wages 78/100 (20%)
Rent 12/100 (15%)
Safety 35/100 (15%)
Schools 35/100 (10%)
Childcare 78/100 (10%)
Environment 6/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

98.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$71,789
Avg Median Salary
$1,852
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
1,265,270
Total Employment

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

Compare Austin With...

Austin vs Texarkana Compare → Austin vs Waco Compare → Austin vs San Antonio Compare → Austin vs Wildwood Compare → Austin vs Waterloo Compare → Austin vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Austin outranks 18% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#316 Corvallis, OR 40.7 C-
#317 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 40.8 C-
#318 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 40.8 C-
#319 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 40.6 C-
#320 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 40.5 C-
#321 Grants Pass, OR 40.3 C-
#322 Modesto, CA 40.2 C-

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using Austin's Life Score

Austin 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 (78/100) and its weakest is environment (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Austin head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Austin 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 Austin's biggest strengths? ▼
Austin's strongest dimensions are Wages (78/100), Childcare (78/100), Schools (35/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Austin's weakest areas? ▼
Austin's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (6/100), Rent (12/100), Cost of Living (29/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Austin compared to the national average? ▼
Austin's Regional Price Parity is 98.1 (1.9% less than national); rent RPP 120.4.
What is the average salary in Austin? ▼
Austin median salary: $71,789, 1,265,270 jobs. Top: General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Customer Service Representatives.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Austin's 40.6/100 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.