PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Eau Claire, WI

52.9
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#154
of 387 metros
60%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Eau Claire ranks #154 of 387 US metros, ahead of 60% - carried by its rent (67/100) and held back most by environment (26/100).

67
strongest: Rent
62
then: Safety
26
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Eau Claire sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 60th percentile higher than 60% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 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 Eau Claire Life Score

Eau Claire's composite score of 52.9 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #154 of 387, ahead of 60% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (67/100) and Safety (62/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (26/100) and Childcare (43/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 92.8 (rent-RPP 72.8). BLS median salary $65,248, 79,810 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,181/mo (studio $932).

FBI UCR (WI): 280 violent, 1157 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 10.7% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,256/yr. EPA: 46 Superfund sites (WI). Ranks #151-#157 below.

Dimension detail

How Eau Claire scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 56/100 (20%)
Wages 54/100 (20%)
Rent 67/100 (15%)
Safety 62/100 (15%)
Schools 46/100 (10%)
Childcare 43/100 (10%)
Environment 26/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

92.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$65,248
Avg Median Salary
$1,181
2BR Fair Market Rent
280
Violent Crime/100K (WI)
14.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,256
Infant Childcare/yr (WI)
46
Superfund Sites (WI)
79,810
Total Employment

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

Compare Eau Claire With...

Eau Claire vs Wausau Compare → Eau Claire vs Duluth Compare → Eau Claire vs Oshkosh Compare → Eau Claire vs Wildwood Compare → Eau Claire vs Waterloo Compare → Eau Claire vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Eau Claire outranks 60% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#151 Baton Rouge, LA 53.2 B
#152 Auburn-Opelika, AL 53.3 B
#153 Eagle Pass, TX 53.4 B
#154 Eau Claire, WI 52.9 B
#155 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 52.9 B
#156 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 52.8 B
#157 Richmond, VA 52.8 B

WI Metro Scores

Wausau, WI A- 61.1 Duluth, MN-WI A- 60.2 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI A- 60.1 Sheboygan, WI A- 59.8 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN A- 59.1 Madison, WI B+ 56.9

Using Eau Claire's Life Score

Eau Claire 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 rent (67/100) and its weakest is environment (26/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Eau Claire head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire's biggest strengths? ▼
Eau Claire's strongest dimensions are Rent (67/100), Safety (62/100), Cost of Living (56/100).
What are Eau Claire's weakest areas? ▼
Eau Claire's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (26/100), Childcare (43/100), Schools (46/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Eau Claire compared to the national average? ▼
Eau Claire's Regional Price Parity is 92.8 (7.2% less than national); rent RPP 72.8.
What is the average salary in Eau Claire? ▼
Eau Claire median salary: $65,248, 79,810 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Eau Claire's 52.9/100 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.