Metro Life Score
Grand Island, NE
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade A-, 88th percentile of the national corpus.
- 60.3
- Life Score / 100
- A-
- Grade (curved)
- #48
- of 387 metros
- 88%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Grand Island is top-quartile composite Life Score — #48 of 387 (60.3/100, grade A-, 88th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 92/100; held back most by schools at 16/100.
- 88th
- composite percentile
- #48
- of 387 peers
- 92nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 24th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · COST-LED · signature cost
Grand Island: affordability leads the Life Score story
Grand Island is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 92nd percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #48 (60.3/100, grade A-). Cost of Living at 92/100 carries the upside; Schools at 16/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Grand Island, NE ranks #48 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #30 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 86.7 (rent-RPP 61.7). BLS median salary $60,012, 31,670 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,215/mo (studio $867).
FBI UCR (NE): 217 violent, 1631 property/100K. NCES: 13.0:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,863/yr. EPA: 19 Superfund sites (NE).
Where Grand Island sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
60 Top 12% higher than 88% 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 60.3 is built
Grand Island's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Grand Island scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are NE state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Grand Island With...
Ranking Context
Grand Island outranks 88% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #45 | Lake Charles, LA | 60.6 | A- |
| #46 | Decatur, IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #47 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 60.7 | A- |
| #48 | Grand Island, NE | 60.3 | A- |
| #49 | Baton Rouge, LA | 60.2 | A- |
| #50 | Eagle Pass, TX | 60.2 | A- |
| #51 | Beckley, WV | 60.1 | A- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Grand Island, NE's quality rank (top 12% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 8% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
NE Metro Scores
Read with Grand Island
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Grand Island (UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Baton Rouge, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 60.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Eagle Pass, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 60.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Beckley, WV
ABS(composite) peer at 60.1 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Lake Charles, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 60.6 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A- vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Grand Forks, ND-MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 93/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Grand Island, NE relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Grand Island's top-third Life Score
Grand Island scores 60.3/100 overall, but Cost of Living (92.5) and Schools (16.1) sit 76.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Grand Island'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
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Lincoln is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Lincoln
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.