PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Bloomington, IN

47.0
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#236
of 387 metros
39%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Bloomington ranks #236 of 387 US metros, ahead of 39% - carried by its rent (62/100) and held back most by environment (10/100).

62
strongest: Rent
55
then: Schools
10
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Bloomington sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 39th percentile higher than 39% 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 47.0 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #236 of 387, ahead of 39% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (62/100) and Schools (55/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (10/100) and Cost of Living (43/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 95.1 (rent-RPP 85.6). BLS median salary $64,582, 63,280 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,210/mo (studio $966).

FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.9:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN). Ranks #233-#239 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 43/100 (20%)
Wages 50/100 (20%)
Rent 62/100 (15%)
Safety 53/100 (15%)
Schools 55/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 10/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

95.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,582
Avg Median Salary
$1,210
2BR Fair Market Rent
308
Violent Crime/100K (IN)
15.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
53
Superfund Sites (IN)
63,280
Total Employment

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

Compare Bloomington With...

Bloomington vs Terre Haute Compare → Bloomington vs Muncie Compare → Bloomington vs Louisville/Jefferson County Compare → Bloomington vs Wildwood Compare → Bloomington vs Waterloo Compare → Bloomington vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Bloomington outranks 39% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#233 Johnson City, TN 47.1 C+
#234 Yuma, AZ 47.2 C+
#235 Tyler, TX 47.2 C+
#236 Bloomington, IN 47.0 C+
#237 Harrisonburg, VA 47.0 C+
#238 Reading, PA 47.0 C+
#239 Binghamton, NY 46.9 C+

IN Metro Scores

Terre Haute, IN A 63.5 Muncie, IN A- 61.0 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN A- 60.3 Kokomo, IN B+ 57.0 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI B 55.2 Evansville, IN B 53.8

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 rent (62/100) 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 Rent (62/100), Schools (55/100), Safety (53/100).
What are Bloomington's weakest areas? ▼
Bloomington's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (10/100), Cost of Living (43/100), Wages (50/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Bloomington compared to the national average? ▼
Bloomington's Regional Price Parity is 95.1 (4.9% less than national); rent RPP 85.6.
What is the average salary in Bloomington? ▼
Bloomington median salary: $64,582, 63,280 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Bloomington's 47.0/100 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.