Metro Life Score
Beckley, WV
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 87th percentile of the national corpus.
- 60.1
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #51
- of 387 metros
- 87%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Beckley is top-quartile composite Life Score — #51 of 387 (60.1/100, grade A-, 87th percentile). Carried by rent at 99/100; held back most by wages at 8/100.
- 87th
- composite percentile
- #51
- of 387 peers
- 84th
- cost dimension percentile
- 8th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature wages
Beckley: wage lag defines the peer set
Beckley is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 8th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (84th) and composite #51. Wages at 8/100 is the clearest drag; Rent (99/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Beckley, WV ranks #51 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #60 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.4 (rent-RPP 52.2). BLS median salary $56,994, 37,740 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $915/mo (studio $631).
FBI UCR (WV): 242 violent, 1089 property/100K. NCES: 13.3:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV).
Where Beckley sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
60 Top 13% higher than 87% 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 60.1 is built
Beckley's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Beckley scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WV state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Beckley With...
Ranking Context
Beckley outranks 87% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #48 | Eagle Pass, TX | 60.2 | A- |
| #49 | Baton Rouge, LA | 60.2 | A- |
| #50 | Grand Island, NE | 60.3 | A- |
| #51 | Beckley, WV | 60.1 | A- |
| #52 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 59.9 | A- |
| #53 | Greenville, NC | 59.9 | A- |
| #54 | Mobile, AL | 59.8 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Beckley, WV's quality rank (top 13% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 16% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
WV Metro Scores
Read with Beckley
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Beckley (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Baton Rouge, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 60.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Eagle Pass, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 60.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Grand Island, NE
ABS(composite) peer at 60.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 59.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Greenville, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 84/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 85/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Beckley, WV relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Beckley's top-third Life Score
Beckley scores 60.1/100 overall, but Rent (98.7) and Wages (8.3) sit 90.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Beckley's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Huntington is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Huntington
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.