PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Carson City, NV

41.4
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#311
of 387 metros
20%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Carson City ranks #311 of 387 US metros, ahead of 20% - carried by its schools (98/100) and held back most by environment (15/100).

98
strongest: Schools
56
then: Childcare
15
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Carson City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

41 20th percentile higher than 20% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Carson City Life Score

Carson City's composite score of 41.4 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #311 of 387, ahead of 20% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (98/100) and Childcare (56/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (15/100) and Rent (29/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 98.1 (rent-RPP 101.2). BLS median salary $66,022, 25,810 jobs (Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,546/mo (studio $1,105).

FBI UCR (NV): 407 violent, 2226 property/100K. NCES: 20.5:1 ratio, 13.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,033/yr. EPA: 2 Superfund sites (NV). Ranks #308-#314 below.

Dimension detail

How Carson City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 29/100 (20%)
Wages 51/100 (20%)
Rent 29/100 (15%)
Safety 29/100 (15%)
Schools 98/100 (10%)
Childcare 56/100 (10%)
Environment 15/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

98.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,022
Avg Median Salary
$1,546
2BR Fair Market Rent
407
Violent Crime/100K (NV)
20.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,033
Infant Childcare/yr (NV)
2
Superfund Sites (NV)
25,810
Total Employment

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

Compare Carson City With...

Carson City vs Reno Compare → Carson City vs Las Vegas Compare → Carson City vs Wildwood Compare → Carson City vs Waterloo Compare → Carson City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Carson City outranks 20% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#308 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 41.7 C
#309 Gainesville, GA 41.8 C
#310 Vallejo, CA 41.9 C
#311 Carson City, NV 41.4 C-
#312 Bend, OR 41.4 C-
#313 Stockton-Lodi, CA 41.3 C-
#314 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 41.0 C-

NV Metro Scores

Reno, NV B 52.5 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV C 45.4

Using Carson City's Life Score

Carson City 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 schools (98/100) and its weakest is environment (15/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Carson City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Carson City 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 Carson City's biggest strengths? ▼
Carson City's strongest dimensions are Schools (98/100), Childcare (56/100), Wages (51/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Carson City's weakest areas? ▼
Carson City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (15/100), Rent (29/100), Cost of Living (29/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Carson City compared to the national average? ▼
Carson City's Regional Price Parity is 98.1 (1.9% less than national); rent RPP 101.2.
What is the average salary in Carson City? ▼
Carson City median salary: $66,022, 25,810 jobs. Top: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Carson City's 41.4/100 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.