PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Beckley, WV

56.5
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#101
of 387 metros
74%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Beckley ranks #101 of 387 US metros, ahead of 74% - carried by its safety (100/100) and held back most by wages (3/100).

100
strongest: Safety
99
then: Rent
3
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Beckley sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 74th percentile higher than 74% 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%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Beckley Life Score

Beckley's composite score of 56.5 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #101 of 387, ahead of 74% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (100/100) and Rent (99/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (3/100) and Environment (8/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.1:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,974/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (WV). Ranks #98-#104 below.

Dimension detail

How Beckley scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 85/100 (20%)
Wages 3/100 (20%)
Rent 99/100 (15%)
Safety 100/100 (15%)
Schools 21/100 (10%)
Childcare 63/100 (10%)
Environment 8/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

88.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$56,994
Avg Median Salary
$915
2BR Fair Market Rent
242
Violent Crime/100K (WV)
13.1:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,974
Infant Childcare/yr (WV)
14
Superfund Sites (WV)
37,740
Total Employment

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

Compare Beckley With...

Beckley vs Wheeling Compare → Beckley vs Weirton Compare → Beckley vs Parkersburg Compare → Beckley vs Wildwood Compare → Beckley vs Waterloo Compare → Beckley vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Beckley outranks 74% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#98 Lake Charles, LA 56.7 B+
#99 Anniston-Oxford, AL 56.7 B+
#100 Madison, WI 56.9 B+
#101 Beckley, WV 56.5 B+
#102 Niles, MI 56.5 B+
#103 Raleigh-Cary, NC 56.5 B+
#104 Alexandria, LA 56.4 B+

WV Metro Scores

Wheeling, WV-OH A+ 68.2 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH A 65.7 Parkersburg-Vienna, WV A 65.2 Charleston, WV A 61.9 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH A- 60.5 Morgantown, WV A- 59.5

Using Beckley's Life Score

Beckley 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 safety (100/100) and its weakest is wages (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Beckley head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Beckley 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 Beckley's biggest strengths? ▼
Beckley's strongest dimensions are Safety (100/100), Rent (99/100), Cost of Living (85/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Beckley's weakest areas? ▼
Beckley's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (3/100), Environment (8/100), Schools (21/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Beckley compared to the national average? ▼
Beckley's Regional Price Parity is 88.4 (11.6% less than national); rent RPP 52.2.
What is the average salary in Beckley? ▼
Beckley median salary: $56,994, 37,740 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Beckley's 56.5/100 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.