Metro Life Score
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 59th percentile of the national corpus.
- 51.7
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #160
- of 387 metros
- 59%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Burlington-South Burlington is above-median composite Life Score — #160 of 387 (51.7/100, grade B, 59th percentile). Carried by environment at 95/100; held back most by rent at 6/100.
- 59th
- composite percentile
- #160
- of 387 peers
- 18th
- cost dimension percentile
- 94th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Burlington-South Burlington: pay power is the signature
Burlington-South Burlington stamps MID · ENVIRO-LED with wages at the 94th percentile of the metro corpus (PEAK) — ahead of its cost mark (DEAR, 18th) and composite #160. Environment (95/100) amplifies the lead; Rent (6/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Burlington-South Burlington, VT ranks #160 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #319 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.9 (rent-RPP 103.8). BLS median salary $78,385, 108,730 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $2,140/mo (studio $1,497).
FBI UCR (VT): 225 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 11.2:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (VT).
Where Burlington-South Burlington sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
52 59th percentile higher than 59% 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 51.7 is built
Burlington-South Burlington's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Burlington-South Burlington scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are VT state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Burlington-South Burlington With...
Ranking Context
Burlington-South Burlington outranks 59% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #157 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 51.8 | B |
| #158 | Pittsburgh, PA | 51.9 | B |
| #159 | Pueblo, CO | 52.0 | B |
| #160 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | 51.7 | B |
| #161 | Flint, MI | 51.7 | B |
| #162 | Yakima, WA | 51.7 | B |
| #163 | Columbus, OH | 51.6 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Burlington-South Burlington, VT is top 41% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 18% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
Read with Burlington-South Burlington
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Burlington-South Burlington (MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Flint, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 51.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Yakima, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 51.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT
ABS(composite) peer at 51.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Columbus, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 51.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 17/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 18/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Burlington-South Burlington, VT relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · ENVIRO-LED · DEAR/PEAK - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Burlington-South Burlington's middle-third Life Score
Burlington-South Burlington scores 51.7/100 overall, but Environment (94.8) and Rent (6.2) sit 88.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Burlington-South 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
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Paducah is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Paducah
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.