PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Dubuque, IA

63.5
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#20
of 387 metros
95%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Dubuque ranks #20 of 387 US metros, ahead of 95% - carried by its cost of living (90/100) and held back most by environment (25/100).

90
strongest: Cost of Living
86
then: Rent
25
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Dubuque sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

64 Top 5% higher than 95% 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 Dubuque Life Score

Dubuque's composite score of 63.5 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #20 of 387, ahead of 95% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (90/100) and Rent (86/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (25/100) and Wages (41/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 87.3 (rent-RPP 64.0). BLS median salary $61,930, 51,410 jobs (Customer Service Representatives, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,077/mo (studio $774).

FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.8:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA). Ranks #17-#23 below.

Dimension detail

How Dubuque scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 90/100 (20%)
Wages 41/100 (20%)
Rent 86/100 (15%)
Safety 72/100 (15%)
Schools 45/100 (10%)
Childcare 65/100 (10%)
Environment 25/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,930
Avg Median Salary
$1,077
2BR Fair Market Rent
238
Violent Crime/100K (IA)
14.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$8,306
Infant Childcare/yr (IA)
25
Superfund Sites (IA)
51,410
Total Employment

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

Compare Dubuque With...

Dubuque vs Waterloo Compare → Dubuque vs Sioux City Compare → Dubuque vs Ames Compare → Dubuque vs Wildwood Compare → Dubuque vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Dubuque outranks 95% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#17 Peoria, IL 63.9 A
#18 Sioux Falls, SD-MN 64.0 A
#19 Cedar Rapids, IA 64.2 A
#20 Dubuque, IA 63.5 A
#21 Mankato, MN 63.5 A
#22 Monroe, LA 63.5 A
#23 Terre Haute, IN 63.5 A

IA Metro Scores

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA A+ 71.5 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD A+ 66.7 Ames, IA A 65.2 Cedar Rapids, IA A 64.2 Iowa City, IA A 62.2 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7

Using Dubuque's Life Score

Dubuque 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 (90/100) and its weakest is environment (25/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Dubuque head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Dubuque 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 Dubuque's biggest strengths? ▼
Dubuque's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (90/100), Rent (86/100), Safety (72/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Dubuque's weakest areas? ▼
Dubuque's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (25/100), Wages (41/100), Schools (45/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Dubuque compared to the national average? ▼
Dubuque's Regional Price Parity is 87.3 (12.7% less than national); rent RPP 64.0.
What is the average salary in Dubuque? ▼
Dubuque median salary: $61,930, 51,410 jobs. Top: Customer Service Representatives, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Dubuque's 63.5/100 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.