PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Bend, OR

41.4
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#310
of 387 metros
20%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Bend ranks #310 of 387 US metros, ahead of 20% - carried by its wages (79/100) and held back most by environment (9/100).

79
strongest: Wages
75
then: Schools
9
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Bend sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 20th percentile higher than 20% 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 Bend Life Score

Bend's composite score of 41.4 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #310 of 387, ahead of 20% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (79/100) and Schools (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (9/100) and Cost of Living (10/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.6 (rent-RPP 110.0). BLS median salary $69,802, 102,030 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,385/mo (studio $1,049).

FBI UCR (OR): 335 violent, 2410 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 10.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,639/yr. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (OR). Ranks #307-#313 below.

Dimension detail

How Bend scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 10/100 (20%)
Wages 79/100 (20%)
Rent 40/100 (15%)
Safety 44/100 (15%)
Schools 75/100 (10%)
Childcare 26/100 (10%)
Environment 9/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$69,802
Avg Median Salary
$1,385
2BR Fair Market Rent
335
Violent Crime/100K (OR)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,639
Infant Childcare/yr (OR)
21
Superfund Sites (OR)
102,030
Total Employment

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

Compare Bend With...

Bend vs Salem Compare → Bend vs Portland Compare → Bend vs Medford Compare → Bend vs Wildwood Compare → Bend vs Waterloo Compare → Bend vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Bend outranks 20% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#307 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 41.7 C
#308 Gainesville, GA 41.8 C
#309 Vallejo, CA 41.9 C
#310 Bend, OR 41.4 C-
#311 Carson City, NV 41.4 C-
#312 Stockton-Lodi, CA 41.3 C-
#313 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 41.0 C-

OR Metro Scores

Salem, OR C+ 47.6 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA C+ 45.7 Medford, OR C 43.1 Eugene-Springfield, OR C- 40.9 Corvallis, OR C- 40.7 Grants Pass, OR C- 40.3

Using Bend's Life Score

Bend 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 (79/100) and its weakest is environment (9/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Bend head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Bend 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 Bend's biggest strengths? ▼
Bend's strongest dimensions are Wages (79/100), Schools (75/100), Safety (44/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Bend's weakest areas? ▼
Bend's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (9/100), Cost of Living (10/100), Childcare (26/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Bend compared to the national average? ▼
Bend's Regional Price Parity is 103.6 (3.6% more than national); rent RPP 110.0.
What is the average salary in Bend? ▼
Bend median salary: $69,802, 102,030 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Bend's 41.4/100 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.