Metro Life Score
Casper, WY
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 78th percentile of the national corpus.
- 56.8
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #87
- of 387 metros
- 78%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Casper is top-quartile composite Life Score — #87 of 387 (56.8/100, grade B+, 78th percentile). Carried by safety at 97/100; held back most by schools at 1/100.
- 78th
- composite percentile
- #87
- of 387 peers
- 48th
- cost dimension percentile
- 34th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · SAFE-LED · signature composite
Casper: top-third composite Life Score
Casper clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#87 of 387, 56.8/100, grade B+, 78th percentile). Stamps UPPER · SAFE-LED; cost MID (48th) · wages LOW (34th). Safety at 97/100 carries the lead; Schools (1/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Casper, WY ranks #87 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #202 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.8 (rent-RPP 74.2). BLS median salary $61,647, 33,190 jobs (Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,082/mo (studio $767).
FBI UCR (WY): 191 violent, 1188 property/100K. NCES: 10.7:1 ratio, 1.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,502/yr. EPA: 3 Superfund sites (WY).
Where Casper sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
57 Top 22% higher than 78% 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 56.8 is built
Casper's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Casper scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WY state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Casper With...
Ranking Context
Casper outranks 78% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #84 | Lynchburg, VA | 56.9 | B+ |
| #85 | Oklahoma City, OK | 57.0 | B+ |
| #86 | Youngstown-Warren, OH | 57.1 | B+ |
| #87 | Casper, WY | 56.8 | B+ |
| #88 | Mansfield, OH | 56.7 | B+ |
| #89 | Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 56.7 | B+ |
| #90 | Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 56.6 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Casper, WY is top 22% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 48% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
WY Metro Scores
Read with Casper
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Casper (UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Mansfield, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 56.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 56.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Lynchburg, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 56.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 56.6 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Odessa, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 48/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Warner Robins, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 48/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Casper, WY relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Casper's top-third Life Score
Casper scores 56.8/100 overall, but Safety (96.6) and Schools (1.0) sit 95.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Casper's seven dimensions (weighted 15% 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
- Cheyenne is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Cheyenne
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.