PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Columbia, MO

44.5
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#276
of 387 metros
29%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Columbia ranks #276 of 387 US metros, ahead of 29% - carried by its cost of living (77/100) and held back most by schools (11/100).

77
strongest: Cost of Living
72
then: Rent
11
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Columbia sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

45 29th percentile higher than 29% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Columbia Life Score

Columbia's composite score of 44.5 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #276 of 387, ahead of 29% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (77/100) and Rent (72/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (11/100) and Safety (15/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 12.8:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO). Ranks #273-#279 below.

Dimension detail

How Columbia scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 77/100 (20%)
Wages 42/100 (20%)
Rent 72/100 (15%)
Safety 15/100 (15%)
Schools 11/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 20/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,908
Avg Median Salary
$1,160
2BR Fair Market Rent
463
Violent Crime/100K (MO)
12.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
39
Superfund Sites (MO)
99,550
Total Employment

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

Compare Columbia With...

Columbia vs St. Joseph Compare → Columbia vs St. Louis Compare → Columbia vs Joplin Compare → Columbia vs Wildwood Compare → Columbia vs Waterloo Compare → Columbia vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Columbia outranks 29% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#273 Charlottesville, VA 44.6 C
#274 Athens-Clarke County, GA 44.6 C
#275 Springfield, MA 44.8 C
#276 Columbia, MO 44.5 C
#277 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 44.5 C
#278 Fort Smith, AR-OK 44.4 C
#279 San Angelo, TX 44.4 C

MO Metro Scores

St. Joseph, MO-KS B+ 55.5 St. Louis, MO-IL B 54.7 Joplin, MO-KS B- 51.7 Springfield, MO B- 49.7 Jefferson City, MO C+ 46.5 Kansas City, MO-KS C 45.5

Using Columbia's Life Score

Columbia 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 cost of living (77/100) and its weakest is schools (11/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Columbia head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Columbia 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 Columbia's biggest strengths? ▼
Columbia's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (77/100), Rent (72/100), Wages (42/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Columbia's weakest areas? ▼
Columbia's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (11/100), Safety (15/100), Environment (20/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Columbia compared to the national average? ▼
Columbia's Regional Price Parity is 89.4 (10.6% less than national); rent RPP 69.2.
What is the average salary in Columbia? ▼
Columbia median salary: $61,908, 99,550 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Columbia's 44.5/100 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.