Metro Life Score
Evansville, IN
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 67th percentile of the national corpus.
- 54.0
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #126
- of 387 metros
- 67%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Evansville is above-median composite Life Score — #126 of 387 (54.0/100, grade B, 67th percentile). Carried by rent at 78/100; held back most by environment at 16/100.
- 67th
- composite percentile
- #126
- of 387 peers
- 66th
- cost dimension percentile
- 37th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature composite
Evansville: top-third composite Life Score
Evansville clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#126 of 387, 54.0/100, grade B, 67th percentile). Stamps UPPER · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (66th) · wages LOW (37th). Rent at 78/100 carries the lead; Environment (16/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Evansville, IN ranks #126 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #131 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.5 (rent-RPP 66.7). BLS median salary $61,998, 128,000 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,113/mo (studio $853).
FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN).
Where Evansville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
54 67th percentile higher than 67% 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 54.0 is built
Evansville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Evansville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Evansville With...
Ranking Context
Evansville outranks 67% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #123 | Birmingham, AL | 54.1 | B |
| #124 | Longview, TX | 54.2 | B |
| #125 | St. Joseph, MO-KS | 54.3 | B |
| #126 | Evansville, IN | 54.0 | B |
| #127 | Auburn-Opelika, AL | 54.0 | B |
| #128 | Terre Haute, IN | 53.9 | B |
| #129 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 53.9 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Evansville, IN's quality rank (top 33% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 34% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
IN Metro Scores
Read with Evansville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Evansville (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Auburn-Opelika, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 54.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Birmingham, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 54.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Terre Haute, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
ABS(composite) peer at 53.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Iowa City, IA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 67/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Lincoln, NE (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 66/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Evansville, IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Evansville's top-third Life Score
Evansville scores 54.0/100 overall, but Rent (78.0) and Environment (15.5) sit 62.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Evansville's seven dimensions (weighted 15% 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
- Muncie is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Muncie
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.