PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Bloomington, IL

49.1
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#207
of 387 metros
47%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Bloomington ranks #207 of 387 US metros, ahead of 47% - carried by its wages (72/100) and held back most by environment (10/100).

72
strongest: Wages
65
then: Safety
10
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Bloomington sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

49 47th percentile higher than 47% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Bloomington Life Score

Bloomington's composite score of 49.1 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #207 of 387, ahead of 47% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (72/100) and Safety (65/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (10/100) and Childcare (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.5 (rent-RPP 74.7). BLS median salary $66,137, 70,320 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,302/mo (studio $927).

FBI UCR (IL): 277 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,257/yr. EPA: 56 Superfund sites (IL). Ranks #204-#210 below.

Dimension detail

How Bloomington scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 50/100 (20%)
Wages 72/100 (20%)
Rent 50/100 (15%)
Safety 65/100 (15%)
Schools 36/100 (10%)
Childcare 28/100 (10%)
Environment 10/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,137
Avg Median Salary
$1,302
2BR Fair Market Rent
277
Violent Crime/100K (IL)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,257
Infant Childcare/yr (IL)
56
Superfund Sites (IL)
70,320
Total Employment

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

Compare Bloomington With...

Bloomington vs Paducah Compare → Bloomington vs Peoria Compare → Bloomington vs Davenport Compare → Bloomington vs Wildwood Compare → Bloomington vs Waterloo Compare →

Ranking Context

Bloomington outranks 47% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#204 Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT 49.2 B-
#205 Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI 49.2 B-
#206 Morristown, TN 49.3 B-
#207 Bloomington, IL 49.1 B-
#208 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 49.0 B-
#209 Erie, PA 48.9 B-
#210 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL 48.9 B-

IL Metro Scores

Paducah, KY-IL A+ 70.0 Peoria, IL A 63.9 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7 Decatur, IL B+ 58.7 Springfield, IL B+ 57.8 Rockford, IL B+ 57.1

Using Bloomington's Life Score

Bloomington 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 (72/100) and its weakest is environment (10/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Bloomington head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Bloomington 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 Bloomington's biggest strengths? ▼
Bloomington's strongest dimensions are Wages (72/100), Safety (65/100), Cost of Living (50/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Bloomington's weakest areas? ▼
Bloomington's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (10/100), Childcare (28/100), Schools (36/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Bloomington compared to the national average? ▼
Bloomington's Regional Price Parity is 93.5 (6.5% less than national); rent RPP 74.7.
What is the average salary in Bloomington? ▼
Bloomington median salary: $66,137, 70,320 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Bloomington's 49.1/100 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.