Metro Life Score
Decatur, AL
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A, 95th percentile of the national corpus.
- 63.4
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #20
- of 387 metros
- 95%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Decatur is top-5% composite Life Score — #20 of 387 (63.4/100, grade A, 95th percentile). Carried by rent at 97/100; held back most by environment at 1/100.
- 95th
- composite percentile
- #20
- of 387 peers
- 90th
- cost dimension percentile
- 34th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Decatur: top-third composite Life Score
Decatur clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#20 of 387, 63.4/100, grade A, 95th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost FLOOR (90th) · wages LOW (34th). Rent at 97/100 carries the lead; Environment (1/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Decatur, AL ranks #20 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #38 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.2 (rent-RPP 58.1). BLS median salary $61,714, 54,590 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). HUD 2BR FMR $961/mo (studio $755).
FBI UCR (AL): 376 violent, 1622 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL).
Where Decatur sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
63 Top 5% higher than 95% 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 63.4 is built
Decatur's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Decatur scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Decatur With...
Ranking Context
Decatur outranks 95% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #17 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 63.5 | A |
| #18 | Lincoln, NE | 63.8 | A |
| #19 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 64.1 | A |
| #20 | Decatur, AL | 63.4 | A |
| #21 | Alexandria, LA | 63.4 | A |
| #22 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 63.4 | A |
| #23 | Idaho Falls, ID | 63.2 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Decatur, AL's quality rank (top 5% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 10% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AL Metro Scores
Read with Decatur
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Decatur (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Alexandria, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 63.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 63.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
ABS(composite) peer at 63.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Idaho Falls, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 63.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Dubuque, IA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lafayette, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Decatur, AL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Decatur's top-third Life Score
Decatur scores 63.4/100 overall, but Rent (96.6) and Environment (1.0) sit 95.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Decatur's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Mobile is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Mobile
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.