PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

55.0
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#122
of 387 metros
68%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Blacksburg ranks #122 of 387 US metros, ahead of 68% - carried by its rent (84/100) and held back most by environment (10/100).

84
strongest: Rent
81
then: Safety
10
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Blacksburg sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

55 68th percentile higher than 68% 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 Blacksburg Life Score

Blacksburg's composite score of 55.0 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #122 of 387, ahead of 68% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (84/100) and Safety (81/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (10/100) and Schools (23/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,407/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA). Ranks #119-#125 below.

Dimension detail

How Blacksburg scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 56/100 (20%)
Wages 51/100 (20%)
Rent 84/100 (15%)
Safety 81/100 (15%)
Schools 23/100 (10%)
Childcare 55/100 (10%)
Environment 10/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,501
Avg Median Salary
$1,094
2BR Fair Market Rent
223
Violent Crime/100K (VA)
13.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,407
Infant Childcare/yr (VA)
35
Superfund Sites (VA)
59,150
Total Employment

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

Compare Blacksburg With...

Blacksburg vs Lynchburg Compare → Blacksburg vs Staunton Compare → Blacksburg vs Virginia Beach Compare → Blacksburg vs Wildwood Compare → Blacksburg vs Waterloo Compare → Blacksburg vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Blacksburg outranks 68% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#119 Tulsa, OK 55.1 B
#120 Columbus, GA-AL 55.1 B
#121 Champaign-Urbana, IL 55.1 B
#122 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 55.0 B
#123 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 55.0 B
#124 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 54.9 B
#125 Tallahassee, FL 54.9 B

VA Metro Scores

Lynchburg, VA A- 59.3 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA B+ 57.4 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC B+ 57.2 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Richmond, VA B 52.8 Roanoke, VA B 52.6

Using Blacksburg's Life Score

Blacksburg 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 rent (84/100) and its weakest is environment (10/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Blacksburg head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Blacksburg 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 Blacksburg's biggest strengths? ▼
Blacksburg's strongest dimensions are Rent (84/100), Safety (81/100), Cost of Living (56/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Blacksburg's weakest areas? ▼
Blacksburg's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (10/100), Schools (23/100), Wages (51/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Blacksburg compared to the national average? ▼
Blacksburg's Regional Price Parity is 92.7 (7.3% less than national); rent RPP 74.4.
What is the average salary in Blacksburg? ▼
Blacksburg median salary: $62,501, 59,150 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Blacksburg's 55.0/100 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.