Metro Life Score
Bozeman, MT
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade F, 2nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 33.5
- Life Score / 100
- F
- Grade (curved)
- #381
- of 387 metros
- 2%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Bozeman is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #381 of 387 (33.5/100, grade F, 2nd percentile). Carried by environment at 94/100; held back most by schools at 3/100.
- 2nd
- composite percentile
- #381
- of 387 peers
- 13th
- cost dimension percentile
- 64th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Bozeman: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Bozeman sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#381 of 387, 33.5/100, 2nd percentile). Stamps BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED; Schools at 3/100 is the main drag; Environment (94/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks CEILING/MID. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Bozeman, MT ranks #381 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #336 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 102.5 (rent-RPP 139.2). BLS median salary $66,748, 62,840 jobs (Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,154/mo (studio $1,485).
FBI UCR (MT): 426 violent, 1646 property/100K. NCES: 11.3:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,466/yr. EPA: 19 Superfund sites (MT).
Where Bozeman sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
34 2nd percentile higher than 2% 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 33.5 is built
Bozeman's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Bozeman scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MT state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Bozeman With...
Ranking Context
Bozeman outranks 2% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #378 | Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 34.5 | F |
| #379 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 35.2 | F |
| #380 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 35.4 | F |
| #381 | Bozeman, MT | 33.5 | F |
| #382 | Kingston, NY | 33.3 | F |
| #383 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 33.0 | F |
| #384 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 33.0 | F |
Quality vs. Affordability
Bozeman, MT's quality rank (bottom 2% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 13% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MT Metro Scores
Read with Bozeman
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Bozeman (BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Kingston, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 33.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
ABS(composite) peer at 33.0 (Δ 0.5 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 33.0 (Δ 0.5 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID.
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 32.8 (Δ 0.7 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade F vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID.
Worcester, MA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 13/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 13/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Bozeman, MT relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · CEILING/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Bozeman's bottom-third Life Score
Bozeman scores 33.5/100 overall, but Environment (93.8) and Schools (2.8) sit 90.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Bozeman's seven dimensions (weighted 10% 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
- Billings is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Billings
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.