Metro Life Score
Columbia, MO
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 47th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.0
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #207
- of 387 metros
- 47%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Columbia is below-median composite Life Score — #207 of 387 (49.0/100, grade B-, 47th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 77/100; held back most by schools at 12/100.
- 47th
- composite percentile
- #207
- of 387 peers
- 77th
- cost dimension percentile
- 36th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature cost
Columbia: affordability leads the Life Score story
Columbia is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 77th percentile of 387 US metros (CHEAP) while composite is #207 (49.0/100, grade B-). Cost of Living at 77/100 carries the upside; Schools at 12/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Columbia, MO ranks #207 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #88 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.4 (rent-RPP 69.2). BLS median salary $61,908, 99,550 jobs (Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,160/mo (studio $800).
FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.2:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO).
Where Columbia sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 47th percentile higher than 47% 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 49.0 is built
Columbia's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Columbia scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MO state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Columbia With...
Ranking Context
Columbia outranks 47% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #204 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 49.1 | B- |
| #205 | Ocala, FL | 49.1 | B- |
| #206 | Reno, NV | 49.2 | B- |
| #207 | Columbia, MO | 49.0 | B- |
| #208 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #209 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #210 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Columbia, MO is bottom 47% lowest-quality nationally and also top 23% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
MO Metro Scores
Read with Columbia
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Columbia (MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Longview, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 77/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Canton-Massillon, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 78/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Columbia, MO relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Columbia's middle-third Life Score
Columbia scores 49.0/100 overall, but Cost of Living (77.5) and Schools (11.7) sit 65.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Columbia'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
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- St. Joseph is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with St. Joseph
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.