PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Erie, PA

48.9
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#209
of 387 metros
46%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Erie ranks #209 of 387 US metros, ahead of 46% - carried by its safety (70/100) and held back most by schools (15/100).

70
strongest: Safety
70
then: Cost of Living
15
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Erie sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

49 46th percentile higher than 46% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Erie Life Score

Erie's composite score of 48.9 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #209 of 387, ahead of 46% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (70/100) and Cost of Living (70/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (15/100) and Environment (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.0 (rent-RPP 56.8). BLS median salary $59,724, 113,330 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,212/mo (studio $836).

FBI UCR (PA): 250 violent, 1457 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA). Ranks #206-#212 below.

Dimension detail

How Erie scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 70/100 (20%)
Wages 29/100 (20%)
Rent 62/100 (15%)
Safety 70/100 (15%)
Schools 15/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 28/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,724
Avg Median Salary
$1,212
2BR Fair Market Rent
250
Violent Crime/100K (PA)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
127
Superfund Sites (PA)
113,330
Total Employment

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

Compare Erie With...

Erie vs Johnstown Compare → Erie vs Williamsport Compare → Erie vs Pittsburgh Compare → Erie vs Wildwood Compare → Erie vs Waterloo Compare → Erie vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Erie outranks 46% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#206 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 49.0 B-
#207 Bloomington, IL 49.1 B-
#208 Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT 49.2 B-
#209 Erie, PA 48.9 B-
#210 Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL 48.9 B-
#211 Ocala, FL 48.7 B-
#212 Ogden, UT 48.7 B-

PA Metro Scores

Johnstown, PA B+ 56.4 Williamsport, PA B 54.7 Pittsburgh, PA B 54.0 York-Hanover, PA B 52.7 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA B- 51.9 State College, PA B- 49.9

Using Erie's Life Score

Erie 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 safety (70/100) and its weakest is schools (15/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Erie head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Erie 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 Erie's biggest strengths? ▼
Erie's strongest dimensions are Safety (70/100), Cost of Living (70/100), Rent (62/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Erie's weakest areas? ▼
Erie's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (15/100), Environment (28/100), Wages (29/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Erie compared to the national average? ▼
Erie's Regional Price Parity is 91.0 (9.0% less than national); rent RPP 56.8.
What is the average salary in Erie? ▼
Erie median salary: $59,724, 113,330 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Erie's 48.9/100 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.