Metro Life Score
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 34th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.9
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #256
- of 387 metros
- 34%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Harrisburg-Carlisle is below-median composite Life Score — #256 of 387 (45.9/100, grade C+, 34th percentile). Carried by safety at 76/100; held back most by schools at 19/100.
- 34th
- composite percentile
- #256
- of 387 peers
- 26th
- cost dimension percentile
- 64th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SAFE-LED · signature cost
Harrisburg-Carlisle: cost pressure is the outlier
Harrisburg-Carlisle is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 26th percentile (DEAR) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 64th and composite #256. Schools (19/100) is the main drag; Safety (76/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA ranks #256 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #288 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 98.7 (rent-RPP 96.3). BLS median salary $66,873, 327,450 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,493/mo (studio $1,058).
FBI UCR (PA): 250 violent, 1457 property/100K. NCES: 13.0:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA).
Where Harrisburg-Carlisle 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
Harrisburg-Carlisle's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Harrisburg-Carlisle scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are PA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Harrisburg-Carlisle With...
Ranking Context
Harrisburg-Carlisle outranks 34% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #253 | Monroe, MI | 46.0 | C+ |
| #254 | Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 46.0 | C+ |
| #255 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 46.0 | C+ |
| #256 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 45.9 | C+ |
| #257 | Grand Junction, CO | 45.9 | C+ |
| #258 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 45.9 | C+ |
| #259 | Wilmington, NC | 45.9 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA's quality rank (bottom 34% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 26% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
PA Metro Scores
Read with Harrisburg-Carlisle
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Harrisburg-Carlisle (LOWER · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Grand Junction, CO
ABS(composite) peer at 45.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's LOWER · SAFE-LED · DEAR/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 · SAFE-LED · DEAR/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 · SAFE-LED · DEAR/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 · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID.
Santa Fe, NM (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 25/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 26/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SAFE-LED · DEAR/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Harrisburg-Carlisle's bottom-third Life Score
Harrisburg-Carlisle scores 45.9/100 overall, but Safety (76.2) and Schools (18.7) sit 57.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Harrisburg-Carlisle's seven dimensions (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Johnstown is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Johnstown
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.