Metro Life Score
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 30th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.3
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #272
- of 387 metros
- 30%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn is below-median composite Life Score — #272 of 387 (45.3/100, grade C, 30th percentile). Carried by childcare at 82/100; held back most by environment at 10/100.
- 30th
- composite percentile
- #272
- of 387 peers
- 21st
- cost dimension percentile
- 79th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · BALANCED · signature cost
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn: cost pressure is the outlier
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 21st percentile (DEAR) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 79th and composite #272. Environment (10/100) is the main drag; Childcare (82/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI ranks #272 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #305 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 100.3 (rent-RPP 94.7). BLS median salary $71,303, 1,883,860 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,411/mo (studio $1,009).
FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI).
Where Detroit-Warren-Dearborn sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 30th percentile higher than 30% 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 45.3 is built
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Detroit-Warren-Dearborn scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Detroit-Warren-Dearborn With...
Ranking Context
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn outranks 30% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #269 | Yuma, AZ | 45.4 | C |
| #270 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | 45.4 | C |
| #271 | Traverse City, MI | 45.4 | C |
| #272 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 45.3 | C |
| #273 | Jackson, TN | 45.3 | C |
| #274 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 45.3 | C |
| #275 | Punta Gorda, FL | 45.3 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI's quality rank (bottom 30% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 21% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MI Metro Scores
Read with Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Detroit-Warren-Dearborn (LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Jackson, TN
ABS(composite) peer at 45.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH.
Port St. Lucie, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 45.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH.
Punta Gorda, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 45.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH.
San Angelo, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 45.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH.
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 22/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Flagstaff, AZ (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 21/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · BALANCED · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Detroit-Warren-Dearborn's bottom-third Life Score
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn scores 45.3/100 overall, but Childcare (82.4) and Environment (9.6) sit 72.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Detroit-Warren-Dearborn's seven dimensions (weighted 10% 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
- Battle Creek is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Battle Creek
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.