Metro Life Score
Florence, SC
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 52nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.3
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #184
- of 387 metros
- 52%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Florence is above-median composite Life Score — #184 of 387 (50.3/100, grade B-, 52nd percentile). Carried by cost of living at 92/100; held back most by environment at 7/100.
- 52nd
- composite percentile
- #184
- of 387 peers
- 92nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 30th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature cost
Florence: affordability leads the Life Score story
Florence is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 92nd percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #184 (50.3/100, grade B-). Cost of Living at 92/100 carries the upside; Environment at 7/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Florence, SC ranks #184 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #32 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 86.8 (rent-RPP 52.4). BLS median salary $60,956, 82,440 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,098/mo (studio $850).
FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 13.8:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC).
Where Florence sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
50 52nd percentile higher than 52% 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 50.3 is built
Florence's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Florence scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are SC state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Florence With...
Ranking Context
Florence outranks 52% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #181 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 50.4 | B- |
| #182 | Jefferson City, MO | 50.5 | B- |
| #183 | Williamsport, PA | 50.6 | B- |
| #184 | Florence, SC | 50.3 | B- |
| #185 | El Centro, CA | 50.3 | B- |
| #186 | Athens-Clarke County, GA | 50.2 | B- |
| #187 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 50.1 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Florence, SC is top 48% highest-quality nationally and also top 8% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
SC Metro Scores
Read with Florence
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Florence (MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
El Centro, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.3 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Athens-Clarke County, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Greensboro-High Point, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 50.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 50.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Laredo, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Grand Forks, ND-MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Florence, SC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Florence's middle-third Life Score
Florence scores 50.3/100 overall, but Cost of Living (92.0) and Environment (7.3) sit 84.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Florence'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
- 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
- Spartanburg is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Spartanburg
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.