Metro Life Score
Goldsboro, NC
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 51st percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.9
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #189
- of 387 metros
- 51%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Goldsboro is above-median composite Life Score — #189 of 387 (49.9/100, grade B-, 51st percentile). Carried by cost of living at 84/100; held back most by wages at 7/100.
- 51st
- composite percentile
- #189
- of 387 peers
- 83rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 7th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature wages
Goldsboro: wage lag defines the peer set
Goldsboro is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 7th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (83rd) and composite #189. Wages at 7/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (84/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Goldsboro, NC ranks #189 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #64 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.5 (rent-RPP 57.7). BLS median salary $56,464, 34,170 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Cashiers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,244/mo (studio $942).
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 Goldsboro sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
50 51st percentile higher than 51% 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 49.9 is built
Goldsboro's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Goldsboro 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 Goldsboro With...
Ranking Context
Goldsboro outranks 51% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #186 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | 50.0 | B- |
| #187 | Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 50.1 | B- |
| #188 | Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 50.1 | B- |
| #189 | Goldsboro, NC | 49.9 | B- |
| #190 | Ogden, UT | 49.9 | B- |
| #191 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 49.8 | B- |
| #192 | Fort Smith, AR-OK | 49.8 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Goldsboro, NC is top 49% highest-quality nationally and also top 17% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
NC Metro Scores
Read with Goldsboro
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Goldsboro (MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Ogden, UT
ABS(composite) peer at 49.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 49.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Fort Smith, AR-OK
ABS(composite) peer at 49.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 50.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 83/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 84/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Goldsboro, NC relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Goldsboro's middle-third Life Score
Goldsboro scores 49.9/100 overall, but Cost of Living (83.7) and Wages (7.0) sit 76.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Goldsboro'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.