Metro Life Score
Birmingham, AL
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 68th percentile of the national corpus.
- 54.1
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #124
- of 387 metros
- 68%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Birmingham is above-median composite Life Score — #124 of 387 (54.1/100, grade B, 68th percentile). Carried by childcare at 93/100; held back most by environment at 1/100.
- 68th
- composite percentile
- #124
- of 387 peers
- 65th
- cost dimension percentile
- 44th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Birmingham: top-third composite Life Score
Birmingham clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#124 of 387, 54.1/100, grade B, 68th percentile). Stamps UPPER · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (65th) · wages MID (44th). Childcare at 93/100 carries the lead; Environment (1/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Birmingham, AL ranks #124 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #134 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.6 (rent-RPP 71.9). BLS median salary $63,237, 497,490 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive). HUD 2BR FMR $1,266/mo (studio $1,024).
FBI UCR (AL): 376 violent, 1622 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL).
Where Birmingham sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 68th percentile higher than 68% 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 54.1 is built
Birmingham's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Birmingham scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Birmingham With...
Ranking Context
Birmingham outranks 68% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #121 | Longview, TX | 54.2 | B |
| #122 | St. Joseph, MO-KS | 54.3 | B |
| #123 | Sandusky, OH | 54.3 | B |
| #124 | Birmingham, AL | 54.1 | B |
| #125 | Auburn-Opelika, AL | 54.0 | B |
| #126 | Evansville, IN | 54.0 | B |
| #127 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Birmingham, AL's quality rank (top 32% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 35% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AL Metro Scores
Read with Birmingham
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Birmingham (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Auburn-Opelika, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 54.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Evansville, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 54.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Longview, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 54.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Rocky Mount, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 54.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Fond du Lac, WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 66/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 65/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Birmingham, AL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Birmingham's top-third Life Score
Birmingham scores 54.1/100 overall, but Childcare (92.6) and Environment (0.5) sit 92.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Birmingham's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Decatur is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Decatur
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.