Metro Life Score
College Station-Bryan, TX
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 79th percentile of the national corpus.
- 57.4
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #82
- of 387 metros
- 79%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
College Station-Bryan is top-quartile composite Life Score — #82 of 387 (57.4/100, grade B+, 79th percentile). Carried by environment at 85/100; held back most by safety at 37/100.
- 79th
- composite percentile
- #82
- of 387 peers
- 70th
- cost dimension percentile
- 38th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
College Station-Bryan: top-third composite Life Score
College Station-Bryan clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#82 of 387, 57.4/100, grade B+, 79th percentile). Stamps UPPER · ENVIRO-LED; cost CHEAP (70th) · wages LOW (38th). Environment at 85/100 carries the lead; Safety (37/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, College Station-Bryan, TX ranks #82 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #118 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 14.4:1 ratio, 11.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX).
Where College Station-Bryan sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
57 Top 21% higher than 79% 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 57.4 is built
College Station-Bryan's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How College Station-Bryan scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TX state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare College Station-Bryan With...
Ranking Context
College Station-Bryan outranks 79% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #79 | Coeur d'Alene, ID | 57.5 | B+ |
| #80 | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 57.6 | B+ |
| #81 | Bismarck, ND | 57.6 | B+ |
| #82 | College Station-Bryan, TX | 57.4 | B+ |
| #83 | Waco, TX | 57.1 | B+ |
| #84 | Youngstown-Warren, OH | 57.1 | B+ |
| #85 | Oklahoma City, OK | 57.0 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
College Station-Bryan, TX's quality rank (top 21% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 30% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
TX Metro Scores
Read with College Station-Bryan
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for College Station-Bryan (UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Coeur d'Alene, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 57.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Bismarck, ND
ABS(composite) peer at 57.6 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 57.6 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Waco, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 57.1 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Mankato, MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 69/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Erie, PA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 70/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
College Station-Bryan, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · ENVIRO-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using College Station-Bryan's top-third Life Score
College Station-Bryan scores 57.4/100 overall, but Environment (84.7) and Safety (36.8) sit 47.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of College Station-Bryan's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Beaumont is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Beaumont
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.