PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC

58.5
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#77
of 387 metros
80%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Greenville ranks #77 of 387 US metros, ahead of 80% - carried by its safety (97/100) and held back most by schools (26/100).

97
strongest: Safety
70
then: Childcare
26
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Greenville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

59 Top 20% higher than 80% 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 Greenville Life Score

Greenville's composite score of 58.5 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #77 of 387, ahead of 80% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (97/100) and Childcare (70/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (26/100) and Environment (37/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.3 (rent-RPP 76.8). BLS median salary $64,232, 423,180 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,173/mo (studio $1,022).

FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 14.3:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC). Ranks #74-#80 below.

Dimension detail

How Greenville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 52/100 (20%)
Wages 48/100 (20%)
Rent 70/100 (15%)
Safety 97/100 (15%)
Schools 26/100 (10%)
Childcare 70/100 (10%)
Environment 37/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.3
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,232
Avg Median Salary
$1,173
2BR Fair Market Rent
439
Violent Crime/100K (SC)
14.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,732
Infant Childcare/yr (SC)
34
Superfund Sites (SC)
423,180
Total Employment

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

Compare Greenville With...

Greenville vs Spartanburg Compare → Greenville vs Sumter Compare → Greenville vs Florence Compare → Greenville vs Wildwood Compare → Greenville vs Waterloo Compare → Greenville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Greenville outranks 80% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#74 Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC 58.6 B+
#75 Huntsville, AL 58.6 B+
#76 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 58.6 B+
#77 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC 58.5 B+
#78 Idaho Falls, ID 58.4 B+
#79 Cleveland, OH 58.2 B+
#80 Waco, TX 58.2 B+

SC Metro Scores

Spartanburg, SC A 64.4 Sumter, SC A- 60.5 Florence, SC A- 60.2 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Columbia, SC B 52.6 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC B- 52.1

Using Greenville's Life Score

Greenville 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 safety (97/100) and its weakest is schools (26/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Greenville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Greenville 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 Greenville's biggest strengths? ▼
Greenville's strongest dimensions are Safety (97/100), Childcare (70/100), Rent (70/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Greenville's weakest areas? ▼
Greenville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (26/100), Environment (37/100), Wages (48/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Greenville compared to the national average? ▼
Greenville's Regional Price Parity is 93.3 (6.7% less than national); rent RPP 76.8.
What is the average salary in Greenville? ▼
Greenville median salary: $64,232, 423,180 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Greenville's 58.5/100 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.