PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Flint, MI

56.1
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#109
of 387 metros
72%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Flint ranks #109 of 387 US metros, ahead of 72% - carried by its rent (91/100) and held back most by safety (19/100).

91
strongest: Rent
82
then: Childcare
19
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Flint sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

56 72th percentile higher than 72% 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%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Flint Life Score

Flint's composite score of 56.1 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #109 of 387, ahead of 72% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (91/100) and Childcare (82/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (19/100) and Environment (30/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.0 (rent-RPP 74.0). BLS median salary $62,289, 121,050 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,033/mo (studio $731).

FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 17.5:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI). Ranks #106-#112 below.

Dimension detail

How Flint scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 54/100 (20%)
Wages 50/100 (20%)
Rent 91/100 (15%)
Safety 19/100 (15%)
Schools 76/100 (10%)
Childcare 82/100 (10%)
Environment 30/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,289
Avg Median Salary
$1,033
2BR Fair Market Rent
431
Violent Crime/100K (MI)
17.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,444
Infant Childcare/yr (MI)
90
Superfund Sites (MI)
121,050
Total Employment

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

Compare Flint With...

Flint vs Midland Compare → Flint vs Saginaw Compare → Flint vs Niles Compare → Flint vs Wildwood Compare → Flint vs Waterloo Compare → Flint vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Flint outranks 72% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#106 Jackson, MI 56.2 B+
#107 Goldsboro, NC 56.2 B+
#108 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH 56.3 B+
#109 Flint, MI 56.1 B+
#110 Fond du Lac, WI 55.6 B+
#111 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 55.6 B+
#112 Warner Robins, GA 55.6 B+

MI Metro Scores

Midland, MI A 62.6 Saginaw, MI A- 59.9 Niles, MI B+ 56.5 Jackson, MI B+ 56.2 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI B+ 55.6 Lansing-East Lansing, MI B+ 55.4

Using Flint's Life Score

Flint 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 (91/100) and its weakest is safety (19/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Flint head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Flint 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 Flint's biggest strengths? ▼
Flint's strongest dimensions are Rent (91/100), Childcare (82/100), Schools (76/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Flint's weakest areas? ▼
Flint's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (19/100), Environment (30/100), Wages (50/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Flint compared to the national average? ▼
Flint's Regional Price Parity is 93.0 (7.0% less than national); rent RPP 74.0.
What is the average salary in Flint? ▼
Flint median salary: $62,289, 121,050 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Flint's 56.1/100 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.