Metro Life Score
Dubuque, IA
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 94th percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.9
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #22
- of 387 metros
- 94%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Dubuque is top-10% composite Life Score — #22 of 387 (62.9/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 90/100; held back most by environment at 14/100.
- 94th
- composite percentile
- #22
- of 387 peers
- 90th
- cost dimension percentile
- 36th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · COST-LED · signature composite
Dubuque: top-third composite Life Score
Dubuque clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#22 of 387, 62.9/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Stamps TOP · COST-LED; cost FLOOR (90th) · wages LOW (36th). Cost of Living at 90/100 carries the lead; Environment (14/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Dubuque, IA ranks #22 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #39 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
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: 14.1:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Dubuque sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
63 Top 6% higher than 94% 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 62.9 is built
Dubuque's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Dubuque scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Dubuque With...
Ranking Context
Dubuque outranks 94% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #19 | Idaho Falls, ID | 63.2 | A |
| #20 | Decatur, AL | 63.4 | A |
| #21 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 63.4 | A |
| #22 | Dubuque, IA | 62.9 | A |
| #23 | Hattiesburg, MS | 62.9 | A |
| #24 | Bowling Green, KY | 62.8 | A |
| #25 | Duluth, MN-WI | 62.7 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Dubuque, IA's quality rank (top 6% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 10% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
IA Metro Scores
Read with Dubuque
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Dubuque (TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Hattiesburg, MS
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Bowling Green, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 62.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Duluth, MN-WI
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Decatur, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Youngstown-Warren, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Dubuque, IA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Dubuque's top-third Life Score
Dubuque scores 62.9/100 overall, but Cost of Living (90.2) and Environment (13.7) sit 76.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Dubuque's seven dimensions (weighted 20% 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
- Ames is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Ames
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.