PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Grants Pass, OR

40.3
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#321
of 387 metros
17%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Grants Pass ranks #321 of 387 US metros, ahead of 17% - carried by its schools (76/100) and held back most by childcare (25/100).

76
strongest: Schools
44
then: Safety
25
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Grants Pass sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

40 17th percentile higher than 17% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Grants Pass Life Score

Grants Pass's composite score of 40.3 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #321 of 387, ahead of 17% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Schools (76/100) and Safety (44/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (25/100) and Cost of Living (30/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 97.8 (rent-RPP 79.9). BLS median salary $65,224, 25,220 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,363/mo (studio $940).

FBI UCR (OR): 335 violent, 2410 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 10.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,639/yr. EPA: 21 Superfund sites (OR). Ranks #318-#324 below.

Dimension detail

How Grants Pass scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 30/100 (20%)
Wages 39/100 (20%)
Rent 42/100 (15%)
Safety 44/100 (15%)
Schools 76/100 (10%)
Childcare 25/100 (10%)
Environment 35/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.8
Cost Index (RPP)
$65,224
Avg Median Salary
$1,363
2BR Fair Market Rent
335
Violent Crime/100K (OR)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,639
Infant Childcare/yr (OR)
21
Superfund Sites (OR)
25,220
Total Employment

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

Compare Grants Pass With...

Grants Pass vs Salem Compare → Grants Pass vs Portland Compare → Grants Pass vs Medford Compare → Grants Pass vs Wildwood Compare → Grants Pass vs Waterloo Compare → Grants Pass vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Grants Pass outranks 17% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#318 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 40.5 C-
#319 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 40.6 C-
#320 Corvallis, OR 40.7 C-
#321 Grants Pass, OR 40.3 C-
#322 Modesto, CA 40.2 C-
#323 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN 40.1 C-
#324 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 40.0 C-

OR Metro Scores

Salem, OR C+ 47.6 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA C+ 45.7 Medford, OR C 43.1 Bend, OR C- 41.4 Eugene-Springfield, OR C- 40.9 Corvallis, OR C- 40.7

Using Grants Pass's Life Score

Grants Pass 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 schools (76/100) and its weakest is childcare (25/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Grants Pass head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Grants Pass 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 Grants Pass's biggest strengths? ▼
Grants Pass's strongest dimensions are Schools (76/100), Safety (44/100), Rent (42/100). Schools is top-tier nationally.
What are Grants Pass's weakest areas? ▼
Grants Pass's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (25/100), Cost of Living (30/100), Environment (35/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Grants Pass compared to the national average? ▼
Grants Pass's Regional Price Parity is 97.8 (2.2% less than national); rent RPP 79.9.
What is the average salary in Grants Pass? ▼
Grants Pass median salary: $65,224, 25,220 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Grants Pass's 40.3/100 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.