PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Decatur, AL

61.9
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#36
of 387 metros
91%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Decatur ranks #36 of 387 US metros, ahead of 91% - carried by its rent (97/100) and held back most by environment (23/100).

97
strongest: Rent
92
then: Childcare
23
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Decatur sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

62 Top 9% higher than 91% 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%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Decatur Life Score

Decatur's composite score of 61.9 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #36 of 387, ahead of 91% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (97/100) and Childcare (92/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (23/100) and Wages (23/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 17.7:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL). Ranks #33-#39 below.

Dimension detail

How Decatur scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 90/100 (20%)
Wages 23/100 (20%)
Rent 97/100 (15%)
Safety 41/100 (15%)
Schools 69/100 (10%)
Childcare 92/100 (10%)
Environment 23/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,714
Avg Median Salary
$961
2BR Fair Market Rent
376
Violent Crime/100K (AL)
17.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$6,896
Infant Childcare/yr (AL)
16
Superfund Sites (AL)
54,590
Total Employment

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

Compare Decatur With...

Decatur vs Tuscaloosa Compare → Decatur vs Mobile Compare → Decatur vs Montgomery Compare → Decatur vs Wildwood Compare → Decatur vs Waterloo Compare → Decatur vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Decatur outranks 91% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#33 Topeka, KS 62.2 A
#34 Iowa City, IA 62.2 A
#35 Mobile, AL 62.3 A
#36 Decatur, AL 61.9 A
#37 Charleston, WV 61.9 A
#38 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 61.7 A
#39 Elizabethtown, KY 61.4 A

AL Metro Scores

Tuscaloosa, AL A+ 66.3 Mobile, AL A 62.3 Montgomery, AL A- 60.5 Gadsden, AL A- 59.6 Dothan, AL A- 59.5 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL A- 59.5

Using Decatur's Life Score

Decatur 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 rent (97/100) and its weakest is environment (23/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Decatur head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Decatur 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 Decatur's biggest strengths? ▼
Decatur's strongest dimensions are Rent (97/100), Childcare (92/100), Cost of Living (90/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Decatur's weakest areas? ▼
Decatur's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (23/100), Wages (23/100), Safety (41/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Decatur compared to the national average? ▼
Decatur's Regional Price Parity is 87.2 (12.8% less than national); rent RPP 58.1.
What is the average salary in Decatur? ▼
Decatur median salary: $61,714, 54,590 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Decatur's 61.9/100 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.