Metro Life Score
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 79th percentile of the national corpus.
- 57.6
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #80
- of 387 metros
- 79%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford is top-quartile composite Life Score — #80 of 387 (57.6/100, grade B+, 79th percentile). Carried by safety at 89/100; held back most by schools at 24/100.
- 79th
- composite percentile
- #80
- of 387 peers
- 56th
- cost dimension percentile
- 39th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · SAFE-LED · signature composite
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford: top-third composite Life Score
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#80 of 387, 57.6/100, grade B+, 79th percentile). Stamps UPPER · SAFE-LED; cost MID (56th) · wages LOW (39th). Safety at 89/100 carries the lead; Schools (24/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA ranks #80 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #169 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.7 (rent-RPP 74.4). BLS median salary $62,501, 59,150 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,094/mo (studio $830).
FBI UCR (VA): 223 violent, 1590 property/100K. NCES: 13.7:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,445/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA).
Where Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
58 Top 21% higher than 79% 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 57.6 is built
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are VA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford With...
Ranking Context
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford outranks 79% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #77 | Anniston-Oxford, AL | 57.7 | B+ |
| #78 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 58.0 | B+ |
| #79 | Enid, OK * | 58.0 | B+ |
| #80 | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 57.6 | B+ |
| #81 | Bismarck, ND | 57.6 | B+ |
| #82 | Coeur d'Alene, ID | 57.5 | B+ |
| #83 | College Station-Bryan, TX | 57.4 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA is top 21% highest-quality nationally but only top 44% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
VA Metro Scores
Read with Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford (UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bismarck, ND
ABS(composite) peer at 57.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Anniston-Oxford, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 57.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Coeur d'Alene, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 57.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
College Station-Bryan, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 57.4 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 56/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Yuma, AZ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 57/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford's top-third Life Score
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford scores 57.6/100 overall, but Safety (88.9) and Schools (24.1) sit 64.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford'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
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Lynchburg is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Lynchburg
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.