Metro Life Score
Grand Junction, CO
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 34th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.9
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #255
- of 387 metros
- 34%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Grand Junction is below-median composite Life Score — #255 of 387 (45.9/100, grade C+, 34th percentile). Carried by environment at 93/100; held back most by safety at 6/100.
- 34th
- composite percentile
- #255
- of 387 peers
- 41st
- cost dimension percentile
- 51st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · signature composite
Grand Junction: bottom-third composite — where the drag concentrates
Grand Junction sits in the bottom third of the metro corpus on composite (#255 of 387, 45.9/100, 33rd percentile). Stamps LOWER · ENVIRO-LED; Safety at 6/100 is the main drag; Environment (93/100) keeps the floor. Cost/wage marks MID/MID. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Grand Junction, CO ranks #255 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #230 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 95.5 (rent-RPP 86.4). BLS median salary $64,324, 60,630 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,249/mo (studio $881).
FBI UCR (CO): 481 violent, 2641 property/100K. NCES: 15.7:1 ratio, 13.7% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,821/yr. EPA: 24 Superfund sites (CO).
Where Grand Junction sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 34th percentile higher than 34% 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 45.9 is built
Grand Junction's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Grand Junction scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are CO state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Grand Junction With...
Ranking Context
Grand Junction outranks 34% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #252 | Monroe, MI | 46.0 | C+ |
| #253 | Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 46.0 | C+ |
| #254 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 46.0 | C+ |
| #255 | Grand Junction, CO | 45.9 | C+ |
| #256 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 45.9 | C+ |
| #257 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 45.9 | C+ |
| #258 | Wilmington, NC | 45.9 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Grand Junction, CO's quality rank (bottom 34% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 41% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
CO Metro Scores
Read with Grand Junction
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Grand Junction (LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID.
Wilmington, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID.
Columbus, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 41/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Yakima, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 40/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Grand Junction, CO relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · ENVIRO-LED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Grand Junction's bottom-third Life Score
Grand Junction scores 45.9/100 overall, but Environment (92.7) and Safety (6.2) sit 86.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Grand Junction's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Pueblo is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Pueblo
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.