PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

30.5
Life Score / 100
F
Grade (curved)
#385
of 387 metros
1%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Baltimore ranks #385 of 387 US metros, ahead of 1% - carried by its wages (90/100) and held back most by environment (6/100).

90
strongest: Wages
28
then: Schools
6
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Baltimore sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

31 1th percentile higher than 1% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 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 Baltimore Life Score

Baltimore's composite score of 30.5 out of 100, a grade of F, places the metro at rank #385 of 387, ahead of 1% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (90/100) and Schools (28/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (6/100) and Cost of Living (8/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 104.5 (rent-RPP 118.2). BLS median salary $78,184, 1,317,590 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,857/mo (studio $1,362).

FBI UCR (MD): 425 violent, 2074 property/100K. NCES: 14.5:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $14,631/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (MD). Ranks #382-#387 below.

Dimension detail

How Baltimore scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 8/100 (20%)
Wages 90/100 (20%)
Rent 12/100 (15%)
Safety 26/100 (15%)
Schools 28/100 (10%)
Childcare 18/100 (10%)
Environment 6/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

104.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$78,184
Avg Median Salary
$1,857
2BR Fair Market Rent
425
Violent Crime/100K (MD)
14.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$14,631
Infant Childcare/yr (MD)
26
Superfund Sites (MD)
1,317,590
Total Employment

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

Compare Baltimore With...

Baltimore vs Salisbury Compare → Baltimore vs Washington Compare → Baltimore vs Philadelphia Compare → Baltimore vs Wildwood Compare → Baltimore vs Waterloo Compare → Baltimore vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Baltimore outranks 1% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#382 Great Falls, MT 30.6 F
#383 Kingston, NY 31.8 F
#384 Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY 32.4 F
#385 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 30.5 F
#386 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 30.0 F
#387 Bozeman, MT 26.0 F

MD Metro Scores

Salisbury, MD C+ 46.1 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV C+ 46.1 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD C 45.4 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV C- 39.5 Lexington Park, MD D 37.7

Using Baltimore's Life Score

Baltimore 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 (90/100) and its weakest is environment (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Baltimore head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Baltimore 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 Baltimore's biggest strengths? ▼
Baltimore's strongest dimensions are Wages (90/100), Schools (28/100), Safety (26/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Baltimore's weakest areas? ▼
Baltimore's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (6/100), Cost of Living (8/100), Rent (12/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Baltimore compared to the national average? ▼
Baltimore's Regional Price Parity is 104.5 (4.5% more than national); rent RPP 118.2.
What is the average salary in Baltimore? ▼
Baltimore median salary: $78,184, 1,317,590 jobs. Top: General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Baltimore's 30.5/100 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.