PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Duluth, MN-WI

60.2
Life Score / 100
A-
Grade (curved)
#52
of 387 metros
87%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Duluth ranks #52 of 387 US metros, ahead of 87% - carried by its cost of living (82/100) and held back most by environment (25/100).

82
strongest: Cost of Living
67
then: Wages
25
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Duluth sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

60 Top 13% higher than 87% 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 Duluth Life Score

Duluth's composite score of 60.2 out of 100, a grade of A-, places the metro at rank #52 of 387, ahead of 87% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (82/100) and Wages (67/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (25/100) and Childcare (35/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 15.8:1 ratio, 11.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,722/yr. EPA: 49 Superfund sites (MN). Ranks #49-#55 below.

Dimension detail

How Duluth scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 82/100 (20%)
Wages 67/100 (20%)
Rent 60/100 (15%)
Safety 66/100 (15%)
Schools 53/100 (10%)
Childcare 35/100 (10%)
Environment 25/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

88.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$70,452
Avg Median Salary
$1,232
2BR Fair Market Rent
259
Violent Crime/100K (MN)
15.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,722
Infant Childcare/yr (MN)
49
Superfund Sites (MN)
117,960
Total Employment

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

Compare Duluth With...

Duluth vs St. Cloud Compare → Duluth vs Sioux Falls Compare → Duluth vs Mankato Compare → Duluth vs Wildwood Compare → Duluth vs Waterloo Compare → Duluth vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Duluth outranks 87% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#49 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 60.3 A-
#50 Lewiston, ID-WA 60.4 A-
#51 Sumter, SC 60.5 A-
#52 Duluth, MN-WI 60.2 A-
#53 Florence, SC 60.2 A-
#54 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 60.1 A-
#55 Springfield, OH 60.1 A-

MN Metro Scores

St. Cloud, MN A+ 69.5 Sioux Falls, SD-MN A 64.0 Mankato, MN A 63.5 Rochester, MN A 63.4 Grand Forks, ND-MN A 62.5 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN A- 59.1

Using Duluth's Life Score

Duluth 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 (82/100) and its weakest is environment (25/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Duluth head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Duluth 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 Duluth's biggest strengths? ▼
Duluth's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (82/100), Wages (67/100), Safety (66/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Duluth's weakest areas? ▼
Duluth's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (25/100), Childcare (35/100), Schools (53/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Duluth compared to the national average? ▼
Duluth's Regional Price Parity is 88.8 (11.2% less than national); rent RPP 71.1.
What is the average salary in Duluth? ▼
Duluth median salary: $70,452, 117,960 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Duluth's 60.2/100 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.