Metro Life Score
Elmira, NY
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade D, 7th percentile of the national corpus.
- 38.8
- Life Score / 100
- D
- Grade (curved)
- #360
- of 387 metros
- 7%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Elmira is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #360 of 387 (38.8/100, grade D, 7th percentile). Carried by environment at 61/100; held back most by schools at 3/100.
- 7th
- composite percentile
- #360
- of 387 peers
- 46th
- cost dimension percentile
- 36th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Elmira: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Elmira sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#360 of 387, 38.8/100, 7th percentile). Stamps BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED; Schools at 3/100 is the main drag; Environment (61/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks MID/LOW. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Elmira, NY ranks #360 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #210 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 94.4 (rent-RPP 76.4). BLS median salary $61,869, 27,950 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,283/mo (studio $949).
FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.4:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY).
Where Elmira sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
39 7th percentile higher than 7% 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 38.8 is built
Elmira's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Elmira scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NY state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Elmira With...
Ranking Context
Elmira outranks 7% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #357 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 39.2 | D |
| #358 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | 39.3 | D |
| #359 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 39.3 | D |
| #360 | Elmira, NY | 38.8 | D |
| #361 | Springfield, MA | 38.8 | D |
| #362 | Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ | 38.7 | D |
| #363 | Clarksville, TN-KY | 38.5 | D |
Quality vs. Affordability
Elmira, NY is bottom 7% lowest-quality nationally and also bottom 46% least affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
NY Metro Scores
Read with Elmira
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Elmira (BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Springfield, MA
ABS(composite) peer at 38.8 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 38.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Clarksville, TN-KY
ABS(composite) peer at 38.5 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Napa, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 38.4 (Δ 0.4 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade D vs this page's BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW.
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 46/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Idaho Falls, ID (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 46/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Elmira, NY relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for BOTTOM · ENVIRO-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Elmira's bottom-third Life Score
Elmira scores 38.8/100 overall, but Environment (61.4) and Schools (3.4) sit 58.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Elmira's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Binghamton is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Binghamton
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.