Metro Life Score
Cedar Rapids, IA
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A, 97th percentile of the national corpus.
- 64.3
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #13
- of 387 metros
- 97%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Cedar Rapids is top-5% composite Life Score — #13 of 387 (64.3/100, grade A, 97th percentile). Carried by rent at 97/100; held back most by environment at 13/100.
- 97th
- composite percentile
- #13
- of 387 peers
- 80th
- cost dimension percentile
- 44th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Cedar Rapids: top-third composite Life Score
Cedar Rapids clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#13 of 387, 64.3/100, grade A, 97th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (80th) · wages MID (44th). Rent at 97/100 carries the lead; Environment (13/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Cedar Rapids, IA ranks #13 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #76 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.0 (rent-RPP 71.4). BLS median salary $63,268, 133,750 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Customer Service Representatives). HUD 2BR FMR $956/mo (studio $659).
FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.8:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Cedar Rapids sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
64 Top 3% higher than 97% 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
Dimension detail
How Cedar Rapids scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Cedar Rapids With...
Ranking Context
Cedar Rapids outranks 97% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #10 | Owensboro, KY | 64.6 | A |
| #11 | Monroe, LA | 64.6 | A+ |
| #12 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 64.7 | A+ |
| #13 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 64.3 | A |
| #14 | Lafayette, LA | 64.1 | A |
| #15 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 64.1 | A |
| #16 | Lincoln, NE | 63.8 | A |
IA Metro Scores
Read with Cedar Rapids
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Cedar Rapids (TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Lafayette, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Lewiston, ID-WA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Monroe, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Owensboro, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID.
Wichita, KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 81/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 80/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Cedar Rapids, IA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.