PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

38.6
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#347
of 387 metros
10%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Dallas ranks #347 of 387 US metros, ahead of 10% - carried by its wages (80/100) and held back most by rent (10/100).

80
strongest: Wages
77
then: Childcare
10
weakest: Rent
7
weighted dimensions

Where Dallas sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 10th percentile higher than 10% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Dallas Life Score

Dallas's composite score of 38.6 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #347 of 387, ahead of 10% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (80/100) and Childcare (77/100), which pull the composite upward, while Rent (10/100) and Cost of Living (12/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.1 (rent-RPP 117.9). BLS median salary $73,476, 4,019,090 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,931/mo (studio $1,582).

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 #344-#350 below.

Dimension detail

How Dallas scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 12/100 (20%)
Wages 80/100 (20%)
Rent 10/100 (15%)
Safety 34/100 (15%)
Schools 38/100 (10%)
Childcare 77/100 (10%)
Environment 22/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$73,476
Avg Median Salary
$1,931
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)
4,019,090
Total Employment

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

Compare Dallas With...

Dallas vs Texarkana Compare → Dallas vs Waco Compare → Dallas vs San Antonio Compare → Dallas vs Wildwood Compare → Dallas vs Waterloo Compare → Dallas vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Dallas outranks 10% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#344 Salinas, CA 38.8 C-
#345 Grand Junction, CO 38.8 C-
#346 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 38.8 C-
#347 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 38.6 C-
#348 Bellingham, WA 38.6 C-
#349 Dover, DE 38.5 C-
#350 Fresno, CA 38.3 D

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 Dallas's Life Score

Dallas 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 (80/100) and its weakest is rent (10/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Dallas head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Dallas 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 Dallas's biggest strengths? ▼
Dallas's strongest dimensions are Wages (80/100), Childcare (77/100), Schools (38/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Dallas's weakest areas? ▼
Dallas's lowest-scoring dimensions are Rent (10/100), Cost of Living (12/100), Environment (22/100). Rent weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Dallas compared to the national average? ▼
Dallas's Regional Price Parity is 103.1 (3.1% more than national); rent RPP 117.9.
What is the average salary in Dallas? ▼
Dallas median salary: $73,476, 4,019,090 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, General and Operations Managers, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Dallas's 38.6/100 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.