PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

30.0
Life Score / 100
F
Grade (curved)
#386
of 387 metros
0%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Boston ranks #386 of 387 US metros, ahead of 0% - carried by its wages (98/100) and held back most by rent (1/100).

98
strongest: Wages
49
then: Safety
1
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Boston sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

30 0th percentile higher than 0% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 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 Boston Life Score

Boston's composite score of 30.0 out of 100, a grade of F, places the metro at rank #386 of 387, ahead of 0% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (98/100) and Safety (49/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (1/100) and Childcare (1/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 108.3 (rent-RPP 148.4). BLS median salary $83,802, 2,639,240 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $2,941/mo (studio $2,359).

FBI UCR (MA): 309 violent, 1101 property/100K. NCES: 12.3:1 ratio, 4.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $20,571/yr. EPA: 41 Superfund sites (MA). Ranks #383-#387 below.

Dimension detail

How Boston scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 5/100 (20%)
Wages 98/100 (20%)
Rent 1/100 (15%)
Safety 49/100 (15%)
Schools 8/100 (10%)
Childcare 1/100 (10%)
Environment 11/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

108.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$83,802
Avg Median Salary
$2,941
2BR Fair Market Rent
309
Violent Crime/100K (MA)
12.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$20,571
Infant Childcare/yr (MA)
41
Superfund Sites (MA)
2,639,240
Total Employment

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

Compare Boston With...

Boston vs Providence Compare → Boston vs Pittsfield Compare → Boston vs Springfield Compare → Boston vs Wildwood Compare → Boston vs Waterloo Compare → Boston vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Boston outranks 0% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#383 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 30.5 F
#384 Great Falls, MT 30.6 F
#385 Kingston, NY 31.8 F
#386 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 30.0 F
#387 Bozeman, MT 26.0 F

MA Metro Scores

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA B- 48.6 Pittsfield, MA C 45.0 Springfield, MA C 44.8 Worcester, MA C 42.1 Barnstable Town, MA F 33.2 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA F 33.0

Using Boston's Life Score

Boston 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 (98/100) and its weakest is rent (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Boston head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Boston 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 Boston's biggest strengths? ▼
Boston's strongest dimensions are Wages (98/100), Safety (49/100), Environment (11/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Boston's weakest areas? ▼
Boston's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (1/100), Childcare (1/100), Cost of Living (5/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Boston compared to the national average? ▼
Boston's Regional Price Parity is 108.3 (8.3% more than national); rent RPP 148.4.
What is the average salary in Boston? ▼
Boston median salary: $83,802, 2,639,240 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Boston's 30.0/100 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.