Metro Life Score
Cleveland, TN
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C-, 17th percentile of the national corpus.
- 41.3
- Life Score / 100
- C-
- Grade (curved)
- #323
- of 387 metros
- 17%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Cleveland is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #323 of 387 (41.3/100, grade C-, 17th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 86/100; held back most by wages at 3/100.
- 17th
- composite percentile
- #323
- of 387 peers
- 86th
- cost dimension percentile
- 3rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · COST-LED · signature wages
Cleveland: wage lag defines the peer set
Cleveland is a LOWER-band metro where wages sit at only the 3rd percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (86th) and composite #323. Wages at 3/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (86/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Cleveland, TN ranks #323 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #54 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.1 (rent-RPP 60.3). BLS median salary $54,703, 36,510 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,233/mo (studio $850).
FBI UCR (TN): 602 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,860/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (TN).
Where Cleveland sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
41 17th percentile higher than 17% 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 41.3 is built
Cleveland's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Cleveland scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Cleveland With...
Ranking Context
Cleveland outranks 17% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #320 | Pittsfield, MA | 41.4 | C- |
| #321 | Greeley, CO | 41.8 | C- |
| #322 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 41.9 | C- |
| #323 | Cleveland, TN | 41.3 | C- |
| #324 | Columbia, SC | 41.2 | C- |
| #325 | New Haven, CT | 41.2 | C- |
| #326 | Boulder, CO | 41.1 | C- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Cleveland, TN is bottom 17% lowest-quality nationally and also top 14% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
TN Metro Scores
Read with Cleveland
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Cleveland (LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Columbia, SC
ABS(composite) peer at 41.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
New Haven, CT
ABS(composite) peer at 41.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Pittsfield, MA
ABS(composite) peer at 41.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Boulder, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 41.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C- vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Sumter, SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Mobile, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 86/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Cleveland, TN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Cleveland's bottom-third Life Score
Cleveland scores 41.3/100 overall, but Cost of Living (86.3) and Wages (3.4) sit 82.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Cleveland's seven dimensions (weighted 20% 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
- Kingsport is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Kingsport
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.