Metro Life Score
Burlington, NC
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 28th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.0
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #279
- of 387 metros
- 28%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Burlington is below-median composite Life Score — #279 of 387 (45.0/100, grade C, 28th percentile). Carried by childcare at 61/100; held back most by wages at 24/100.
- 28th
- composite percentile
- #279
- of 387 peers
- 53rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 24th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · BALANCED · signature wages
Burlington: wage lag defines the peer set
Burlington is a LOWER-band metro where wages sit at only the 24th percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (53rd) and composite #279. Wages at 24/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (61/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Burlington, NC ranks #279 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #183 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.2 (rent-RPP 77.9). BLS median salary $59,725, 61,270 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,348/mo (studio $992).
FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 16.1:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC).
Where Burlington sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 28th percentile higher than 28% 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 45.0 is built
Burlington's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Burlington scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Burlington With...
Ranking Context
Burlington outranks 28% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #276 | Medford, OR | 45.1 | C |
| #277 | Johnson City, TN | 45.1 | C |
| #278 | San Angelo, TX | 45.2 | C |
| #279 | Burlington, NC | 45.0 | C |
| #280 | Bellingham, WA | 44.9 | C |
| #281 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 44.8 | C |
| #282 | Corvallis, OR | 44.8 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Burlington, NC is bottom 28% lowest-quality nationally and also top 47% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
NC Metro Scores
Read with Burlington
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Burlington (LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bellingham, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Johnson City, TN
ABS(composite) peer at 45.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Medford, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
ABS(composite) peer at 44.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Green Bay, WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 53/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Lebanon, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 53/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Burlington, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · BALANCED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Burlington's bottom-third Life Score
Burlington scores 45.0/100 overall, but Childcare (60.6) and Wages (23.6) sit 37.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Burlington'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
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Greenville is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Greenville
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.