PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Hammond, LA

57.8
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#84
of 387 metros
78%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Hammond ranks #84 of 387 US metros, ahead of 78% - carried by its cost of living (99/100) and held back most by wages (2/100).

99
strongest: Cost of Living
89
then: Schools
2
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Hammond 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 Hammond Life Score

Hammond's composite score of 57.8 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #84 of 387, ahead of 78% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (99/100) and Schools (89/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (2/100) and Safety (28/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 84.5 (rent-RPP 48.2). BLS median salary $55,386, 41,250 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,099/mo (studio $831).

FBI UCR (LA): 410 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 16.8:1 ratio, 11.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,396/yr. EPA: 29 Superfund sites (LA). Ranks #81-#87 below.

Dimension detail

How Hammond scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 99/100 (20%)
Wages 2/100 (20%)
Rent 82/100 (15%)
Safety 28/100 (15%)
Schools 89/100 (10%)
Childcare 86/100 (10%)
Environment 37/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

84.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$55,386
Avg Median Salary
$1,099
2BR Fair Market Rent
410
Violent Crime/100K (LA)
16.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,396
Infant Childcare/yr (LA)
29
Superfund Sites (LA)
41,250
Total Employment

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

Compare Hammond With...

Hammond vs Monroe Compare → Hammond vs Shreveport Compare → Hammond vs Lafayette Compare → Hammond vs Wildwood Compare → Hammond vs Waterloo Compare → Hammond vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Hammond outranks 78% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#81 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 58.0 B+
#82 Fayetteville, NC 58.0 B+
#83 Bowling Green, KY 58.0 B+
#84 Hammond, LA 57.8 B+
#85 Springfield, IL 57.8 B+
#86 Grand Island, NE 57.7 B+
#87 Valdosta, GA 57.7 B+

LA Metro Scores

Monroe, LA A 63.5 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA A 62.9 Lafayette, LA A- 61.2 New Orleans-Metairie, LA B+ 58.7 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA B+ 58.6 Lake Charles, LA B+ 56.7

Using Hammond's Life Score

Hammond 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 (99/100) and its weakest is wages (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Hammond head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Hammond 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 Hammond's biggest strengths? ▼
Hammond's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (99/100), Schools (89/100), Childcare (86/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Hammond's weakest areas? ▼
Hammond's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (2/100), Safety (28/100), Environment (37/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Hammond compared to the national average? ▼
Hammond's Regional Price Parity is 84.5 (15.5% less than national); rent RPP 48.2.
What is the average salary in Hammond? ▼
Hammond median salary: $55,386, 41,250 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Hammond's 57.8/100 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.