Metro Life Score
Duluth, MN-WI
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 94th percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.7
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #25
- 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
Duluth is top-10% composite Life Score — #25 of 387 (62.7/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 82/100; held back most by environment at 20/100.
- 94th
- composite percentile
- #25
- of 387 peers
- 82nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 77th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · COST-LED · signature composite
Duluth: top-third composite Life Score
Duluth clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#25 of 387, 62.7/100, grade A, 93rd percentile). Stamps TOP · COST-LED; cost CHEAP (82nd) · wages HIGH (77th). Cost of Living at 82/100 carries the lead; Environment (20/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Duluth, MN-WI ranks #25 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #70 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.8 (rent-RPP 71.1). BLS median salary $70,452, 117,960 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,232/mo (studio $849).
FBI UCR (MN): 259 violent, 1625 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 11.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,722/yr. EPA: 49 Superfund sites (MN).
Where Duluth 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 62.7 is built
Duluth's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Duluth scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Duluth With...
Ranking Context
Duluth outranks 94% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #22 | Bowling Green, KY | 62.8 | A |
| #23 | Hattiesburg, MS | 62.9 | A |
| #24 | Dubuque, IA | 62.9 | A |
| #25 | Duluth, MN-WI | 62.7 | A |
| #26 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 62.7 | A |
| #27 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 62.4 | A |
| #28 | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 62.2 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Duluth, MN-WI's quality rank (top 6% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 18% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MN Metro Scores
Read with Duluth
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Duluth (TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Bowling Green, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 62.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Dubuque, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Hattiesburg, MS
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH.
Charleston, WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 82/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Topeka, KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 82/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Duluth, MN-WI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · COST-LED · CHEAP/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Duluth's top-third Life Score
Duluth scores 62.7/100 overall, but Cost of Living (82.1) and Environment (20.5) sit 61.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Duluth'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
- St. Cloud is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with St. Cloud
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.