Metro Life Score
Fayetteville, NC
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 62nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 52.5
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #146
- of 387 metros
- 62%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Fayetteville is above-median composite Life Score — #146 of 387 (52.5/100, grade B, 62nd percentile). Carried by cost of living at 63/100; held back most by wages at 41/100.
- 62nd
- composite percentile
- #146
- of 387 peers
- 63rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 41st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature cost
Fayetteville: mid-pack cost with a distinct Life Score shape
Fayetteville sits mid-pack on cost (≈63rd percentile, MID) with composite #146 of 387 (52.5/100). Profile COST-LED; wages mark MID. Strongest cost of living 63/100; weakest wages 41/100. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Fayetteville, NC ranks #146 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #145 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.0 (rent-RPP 73.1). BLS median salary $62,837, 121,490 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Cooks, Fast Food, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,251/mo (studio $1,090).
FBI UCR (NC): 365 violent, 1930 property/100K. NCES: 16.1:1 ratio, 7.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,487/yr. EPA: 42 Superfund sites (NC).
Where Fayetteville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
53 62nd percentile higher than 62% 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 52.5 is built
Fayetteville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Fayetteville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Fayetteville With...
Ranking Context
Fayetteville outranks 62% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #143 | Joplin, MO-KS | 52.6 | B |
| #144 | Appleton, WI | 52.6 | B |
| #145 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 52.7 | B |
| #146 | Fayetteville, NC | 52.5 | B |
| #147 | Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 52.5 | B |
| #148 | Altoona, PA | 52.4 | B |
| #149 | Farmington, NM | 52.4 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Fayetteville, NC's quality rank (top 38% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 37% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
NC Metro Scores
Read with Fayetteville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Fayetteville (MID · COST-LED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 52.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · COST-LED · MID/MID.
Altoona, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 52.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · COST-LED · MID/MID.
Appleton, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · COST-LED · MID/MID.
Farmington, NM
ABS(composite) peer at 52.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · COST-LED · MID/MID.
Midland, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 63/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Winston-Salem, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 62/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Fayetteville, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Fayetteville's middle-third Life Score
Fayetteville scores 52.5/100 overall, but Cost of Living (62.7) and Wages (41.5) sit 21.2 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Fayetteville's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Greenville is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Greenville
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.