PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

College Station-Bryan, TX

52.0
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#171
of 387 metros
56%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

College Station ranks #171 of 387 US metros, ahead of 56% - carried by its childcare (77/100) and held back most by environment (19/100).

77
strongest: Childcare
70
then: Cost of Living
19
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where College Station sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 56th percentile higher than 56% 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%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 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 College Station Life Score

College Station's composite score of 52.0 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #171 of 387, ahead of 56% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Childcare (77/100) and Cost of Living (70/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (19/100) and Safety (34/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.0 (rent-RPP 75.1). BLS median salary $62,191, 118,500 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,186/mo (studio $1,025).

FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #168-#174 below.

Dimension detail

How College Station scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 70/100 (20%)
Wages 48/100 (20%)
Rent 66/100 (15%)
Safety 34/100 (15%)
Schools 37/100 (10%)
Childcare 77/100 (10%)
Environment 19/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,191
Avg Median Salary
$1,186
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
118,500
Total Employment

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

Compare College Station With...

College Station vs Texarkana Compare → College Station vs Waco Compare → College Station vs San Antonio Compare → College Station vs Wildwood Compare → College Station vs Waterloo Compare → College Station vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

College Station outranks 56% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#168 Fort Wayne, IN 52.1 B-
#169 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 52.1 B-
#170 Lawton, OK 52.4 B-
#171 College Station-Bryan, TX 52.0 B-
#172 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 51.9 B-
#173 Joplin, MO-KS 51.7 B-
#174 Appleton, WI 51.6 B-

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using College Station's Life Score

College Station 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 childcare (77/100) and its weakest is environment (19/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put College Station head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where College Station 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 College Station's biggest strengths? ▼
College Station's strongest dimensions are Childcare (77/100), Cost of Living (70/100), Rent (66/100). Childcare is top-tier nationally.
What are College Station's weakest areas? ▼
College Station's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (19/100), Safety (34/100), Schools (37/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is College Station compared to the national average? ▼
College Station's Regional Price Parity is 91.0 (9.0% less than national); rent RPP 75.1.
What is the average salary in College Station? ▼
College Station median salary: $62,191, 118,500 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary, General and Operations Managers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
College Station's 52.0/100 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.