PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Bay City, MI

49.9
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#191
of 387 metros
51%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Bay City ranks #191 of 387 US metros, ahead of 51% - carried by its rent (91/100) and held back most by environment (8/100).

91
strongest: Rent
83
then: Childcare
8
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Bay City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

50 51th percentile higher than 51% 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%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Bay City Life Score

Bay City's composite score of 49.9 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #191 of 387, ahead of 51% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (91/100) and Childcare (83/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (8/100) and Safety (20/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.9 (rent-RPP 66.7). BLS median salary $61,214, 27,180 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,030/mo (studio $809).

FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 17.5:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI). Ranks #188-#194 below.

Dimension detail

How Bay City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 63/100 (20%)
Wages 21/100 (20%)
Rent 91/100 (15%)
Safety 20/100 (15%)
Schools 75/100 (10%)
Childcare 83/100 (10%)
Environment 8/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,214
Avg Median Salary
$1,030
2BR Fair Market Rent
431
Violent Crime/100K (MI)
17.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,444
Infant Childcare/yr (MI)
90
Superfund Sites (MI)
27,180
Total Employment

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

Compare Bay City With...

Bay City vs Midland Compare → Bay City vs Saginaw Compare → Bay City vs Niles Compare → Bay City vs Wildwood Compare → Bay City vs Waterloo Compare → Bay City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Bay City outranks 51% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#188 Longview-Kelso, WA 50.0 B-
#189 Longview, TX 50.0 B-
#190 Burlington, NC 50.0 B-
#191 Bay City, MI 49.9 B-
#192 State College, PA 49.9 B-
#193 Naples-Marco Island, FL 49.8 B-
#194 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 49.8 B-

MI Metro Scores

Midland, MI A 62.6 Saginaw, MI A- 59.9 Niles, MI B+ 56.5 Jackson, MI B+ 56.2 Flint, MI B+ 56.1 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI B+ 55.6

Using Bay City's Life Score

Bay City 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 rent (91/100) and its weakest is environment (8/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Bay City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Bay City 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 Bay City's biggest strengths? ▼
Bay City's strongest dimensions are Rent (91/100), Childcare (83/100), Schools (75/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Bay City's weakest areas? ▼
Bay City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (8/100), Safety (20/100), Wages (21/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Bay City compared to the national average? ▼
Bay City's Regional Price Parity is 91.9 (8.1% less than national); rent RPP 66.7.
What is the average salary in Bay City? ▼
Bay City median salary: $61,214, 27,180 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Bay City's 49.9/100 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.