PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Colorado Springs, CO

34.8
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#371
of 387 metros
4%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Colorado Springs ranks #371 of 387 US metros, ahead of 4% - carried by its wages (83/100) and held back most by safety (7/100).

83
strongest: Wages
63
then: Schools
7
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Colorado Springs sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

35 4th percentile higher than 4% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Colorado Springs Life Score

Colorado Springs's composite score of 34.8 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #371 of 387, ahead of 4% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (83/100) and Schools (63/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (7/100) and Rent (19/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 100.7 (rent-RPP 116.2). BLS median salary $72,907, 304,920 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,735/mo (studio $1,196).

FBI UCR (CO): 481 violent, 2641 property/100K. NCES: 16.6:1 ratio, 14.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,821/yr. EPA: 24 Superfund sites (CO). Ranks #368-#374 below.

Dimension detail

How Colorado Springs scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 19/100 (20%)
Wages 83/100 (20%)
Rent 19/100 (15%)
Safety 7/100 (15%)
Schools 63/100 (10%)
Childcare 23/100 (10%)
Environment 19/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

100.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$72,907
Avg Median Salary
$1,735
2BR Fair Market Rent
481
Violent Crime/100K (CO)
16.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,821
Infant Childcare/yr (CO)
24
Superfund Sites (CO)
304,920
Total Employment

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

Compare Colorado Springs With...

Colorado Springs vs Pueblo Compare → Colorado Springs vs Grand Junction Compare → Colorado Springs vs Greeley Compare → Colorado Springs vs Wildwood Compare → Colorado Springs vs Waterloo Compare → Colorado Springs vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Colorado Springs outranks 4% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#368 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 35.1 D
#369 Missoula, MT 35.2 D
#370 Billings, MT 35.6 D
#371 Colorado Springs, CO 34.8 D
#372 Flagstaff, AZ 34.5 D
#373 Anchorage, AK 34.3 D
#374 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 34.1 D

CO Metro Scores

Pueblo, CO C+ 47.3 Grand Junction, CO C- 38.8 Greeley, CO D 37.2 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO D 36.3 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO F 32.8 Boulder, CO F 32.6

Using Colorado Springs's Life Score

Colorado Springs 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 wages (83/100) and its weakest is safety (7/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Colorado Springs head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs's biggest strengths? ▼
Colorado Springs's strongest dimensions are Wages (83/100), Schools (63/100), Childcare (23/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Colorado Springs's weakest areas? ▼
Colorado Springs's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (7/100), Rent (19/100), Environment (19/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Colorado Springs compared to the national average? ▼
Colorado Springs's Regional Price Parity is 100.7 (0.7% more than national); rent RPP 116.2.
What is the average salary in Colorado Springs? ▼
Colorado Springs median salary: $72,907, 304,920 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Colorado Springs's 34.8/100 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.