PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Glens Falls, NY

39.0
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#340
of 387 metros
12%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Glens Falls ranks #340 of 387 US metros, ahead of 12% - carried by its wages (61/100) and held back most by schools (3/100).

61
strongest: Wages
44
then: Rent
3
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Glens Falls sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 12th percentile higher than 12% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 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 Glens Falls Life Score

Glens Falls's composite score of 39.0 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #340 of 387, ahead of 12% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (61/100) and Rent (44/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (3/100) and Childcare (20/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 94.9 (rent-RPP 76.2). BLS median salary $66,652, 44,620 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,348/mo (studio $1,041).

FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY). Ranks #337-#343 below.

Dimension detail

How Glens Falls scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 44/100 (20%)
Wages 61/100 (20%)
Rent 44/100 (15%)
Safety 38/100 (15%)
Schools 3/100 (10%)
Childcare 20/100 (10%)
Environment 33/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

94.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,652
Avg Median Salary
$1,348
2BR Fair Market Rent
380
Violent Crime/100K (NY)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$13,869
Infant Childcare/yr (NY)
122
Superfund Sites (NY)
44,620
Total Employment

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

Compare Glens Falls With...

Glens Falls vs Utica Compare → Glens Falls vs Watertown Compare → Glens Falls vs Binghamton Compare → Glens Falls vs Wildwood Compare → Glens Falls vs Waterloo Compare → Glens Falls vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Glens Falls outranks 12% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#337 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 39.1 C-
#338 Chattanooga, TN-GA 39.3 C-
#339 Burlington-South Burlington, VT 39.3 C-
#340 Glens Falls, NY 39.0 C-
#341 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 39.0 C-
#342 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 38.9 C-
#343 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 38.8 C-

NY Metro Scores

Utica-Rome, NY B 52.5 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY B 52.5 Binghamton, NY C+ 46.9 Syracuse, NY C+ 46.9 Rochester, NY C 42.3 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY C- 41.0

Using Glens Falls's Life Score

Glens Falls 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 wages (61/100) and its weakest is schools (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Glens Falls head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Glens Falls 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 Glens Falls's biggest strengths? ▼
Glens Falls's strongest dimensions are Wages (61/100), Rent (44/100), Cost of Living (44/100).
What are Glens Falls's weakest areas? ▼
Glens Falls's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (3/100), Childcare (20/100), Environment (33/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Glens Falls compared to the national average? ▼
Glens Falls's Regional Price Parity is 94.9 (5.1% less than national); rent RPP 76.2.
What is the average salary in Glens Falls? ▼
Glens Falls median salary: $66,652, 44,620 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Glens Falls's 39.0/100 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.