Metro Life Score
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 35th percentile of the national corpus.
- 46.0
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #252
- of 387 metros
- 35%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach is below-median composite Life Score — #252 of 387 (46.0/100, grade C+, 35th percentile). Carried by safety at 96/100; held back most by rent at 15/100.
- 35th
- composite percentile
- #252
- of 387 peers
- 25th
- cost dimension percentile
- 39th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature cost
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach: cost pressure is the outlier
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach is a MID-band metro where cost sits only at the 25th percentile (DEAR) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 39th and composite #252. Rent (15/100) is the main drag; Safety (96/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL ranks #252 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #292 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 99.4 (rent-RPP 108.4). BLS median salary $62,306, 210,520 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,806/mo (studio $1,278).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 35th percentile higher than 35% 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 46.0 is built
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach With...
Ranking Context
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach outranks 35% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #249 | Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | 46.1 | C+ |
| #250 | Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
| #251 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #252 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 46.0 | C+ |
| #253 | Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 46.0 | C+ |
| #254 | Monroe, MI | 46.0 | C+ |
| #255 | Grand Junction, CO | 45.9 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL's quality rank (bottom 35% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 25% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach (MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Lewiston-Auburn, ME
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Monroe, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Grand Junction, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW.
Jacksonville, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 24/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Charlottesville, VA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 25/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · DEAR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach's middle-third Life Score
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach scores 46.0/100 overall, but Safety (95.6) and Rent (14.5) sit 81.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach'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
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.