PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Grand Island, NE

57.7
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#86
of 387 metros
78%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Grand Island ranks #86 of 387 US metros, ahead of 78% - carried by its cost of living (92/100) and held back most by schools (20/100).

92
strongest: Cost of Living
82
then: Safety
20
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Grand Island sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

58 Top 22% higher than 78% 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 Grand Island Life Score

Grand Island's composite score of 57.7 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #86 of 387, ahead of 78% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (92/100) and Safety (82/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (20/100) and Wages (33/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.5:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $9,863/yr. EPA: 19 Superfund sites (NE). Ranks #83-#89 below.

Dimension detail

How Grand Island scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 92/100 (20%)
Wages 33/100 (20%)
Rent 62/100 (15%)
Safety 82/100 (15%)
Schools 20/100 (10%)
Childcare 56/100 (10%)
Environment 34/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

86.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$60,012
Avg Median Salary
$1,215
2BR Fair Market Rent
217
Violent Crime/100K (NE)
13.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$9,863
Infant Childcare/yr (NE)
19
Superfund Sites (NE)
31,670
Total Employment

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

Compare Grand Island With...

Grand Island vs Sioux City Compare → Grand Island vs Lincoln Compare → Grand Island vs Omaha Compare → Grand Island vs Wildwood Compare → Grand Island vs Waterloo Compare → Grand Island vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Grand Island outranks 78% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#83 Springfield, IL 57.8 B+
#84 Hammond, LA 57.8 B+
#85 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 58.0 B+
#86 Grand Island, NE 57.7 B+
#87 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+
#88 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 57.6 B+
#89 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA 57.4 B+

NE Metro Scores

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD A+ 66.7 Lincoln, NE A- 59.6 Omaha, NE-IA A- 59.4

Using Grand Island's Life Score

Grand Island 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 cost of living (92/100) and its weakest is schools (20/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Grand Island head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Grand Island 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 Grand Island's biggest strengths? ▼
Grand Island's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (92/100), Safety (82/100), Rent (62/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Grand Island's weakest areas? ▼
Grand Island's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (20/100), Wages (33/100), Environment (34/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Grand Island compared to the national average? ▼
Grand Island's Regional Price Parity is 86.7 (13.3% less than national); rent RPP 61.7.
What is the average salary in Grand Island? ▼
Grand Island median salary: $60,012, 31,670 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Grand Island's 57.7/100 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.