PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Dothan, AL

59.5
Life Score / 100
A-
Grade (curved)
#62
of 387 metros
84%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Dothan ranks #62 of 387 US metros, ahead of 84% - carried by its cost of living (99/100) and held back most by wages (1/100).

99
strongest: Cost of Living
97
then: Rent
1
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Dothan sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

60 Top 16% higher than 84% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Dothan Life Score

Dothan's composite score of 59.5 out of 100, a grade of A-, places the metro at rank #62 of 387, ahead of 84% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (99/100) and Rent (97/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (1/100) and Environment (25/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 83.8 (rent-RPP 46.9). BLS median salary $52,967, 54,630 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). HUD 2BR FMR $950/mo (studio $757).

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 #59-#65 below.

Dimension detail

How Dothan scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 99/100 (20%)
Wages 1/100 (20%)
Rent 97/100 (15%)
Safety 41/100 (15%)
Schools 70/100 (10%)
Childcare 92/100 (10%)
Environment 25/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

83.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$52,967
Avg Median Salary
$950
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)
54,630
Total Employment

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

Compare Dothan With...

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

Ranking Context

Dothan outranks 84% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#59 Lincoln, NE 59.6 A-
#60 Gadsden, AL 59.6 A-
#61 Hattiesburg, MS 59.7 A-
#62 Dothan, AL 59.5 A-
#63 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 59.5 A-
#64 Morgantown, WV 59.5 A-
#65 Omaha, NE-IA 59.4 A-

AL Metro Scores

Tuscaloosa, AL A+ 66.3 Mobile, AL A 62.3 Decatur, AL A 61.9 Montgomery, AL A- 60.5 Gadsden, AL A- 59.6 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL A- 59.5

Using Dothan's Life Score

Dothan 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 cost of living (99/100) and its weakest is wages (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Dothan head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Dothan 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 Dothan's biggest strengths? ▼
Dothan's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (99/100), Rent (97/100), Childcare (92/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Dothan's weakest areas? ▼
Dothan's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (1/100), Environment (25/100), Safety (41/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Dothan compared to the national average? ▼
Dothan's Regional Price Parity is 83.8 (16.2% less than national); rent RPP 46.9.
What is the average salary in Dothan? ▼
Dothan median salary: $52,967, 54,630 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Dothan's 59.5/100 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.