PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

43.1
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#289
of 387 metros
25%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Harrisburg ranks #289 of 387 US metros, ahead of 25% - carried by its safety (70/100) and held back most by schools (16/100).

70
strongest: Safety
65
then: Wages
16
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Harrisburg sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

43 25th percentile higher than 25% 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 Harrisburg Life Score

Harrisburg's composite score of 43.1 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #289 of 387, ahead of 25% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (70/100) and Wages (65/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (16/100) and Cost of Living (26/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.6:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA). Ranks #286-#292 below.

Dimension detail

How Harrisburg scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 26/100 (20%)
Wages 65/100 (20%)
Rent 32/100 (15%)
Safety 70/100 (15%)
Schools 16/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 38/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

98.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$66,873
Avg Median Salary
$1,493
2BR Fair Market Rent
250
Violent Crime/100K (PA)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
127
Superfund Sites (PA)
327,450
Total Employment

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

Compare Harrisburg With...

Harrisburg vs Johnstown Compare → Harrisburg vs Williamsport Compare → Harrisburg vs Pittsburgh Compare → Harrisburg vs Wildwood Compare → Harrisburg vs Waterloo Compare → Harrisburg vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Harrisburg outranks 25% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#286 Yuba City, CA 43.3 C
#287 Chambersburg, PA 43.4 C
#288 Urban Honolulu, HI 43.6 C
#289 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 43.1 C
#290 Hot Springs, AR 43.1 C
#291 Medford, OR 43.1 C
#292 Sherman-Denison, TX 43.1 C

PA Metro Scores

Johnstown, PA B+ 56.4 Williamsport, PA B 54.7 Pittsburgh, PA B 54.0 York-Hanover, PA B 52.7 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA B- 51.9 State College, PA B- 49.9

Using Harrisburg's Life Score

Harrisburg 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 (70/100) and its weakest is schools (16/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Harrisburg head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg's biggest strengths? ▼
Harrisburg's strongest dimensions are Safety (70/100), Wages (65/100), Environment (38/100).
What are Harrisburg's weakest areas? ▼
Harrisburg's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (16/100), Cost of Living (26/100), Rent (32/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Harrisburg compared to the national average? ▼
Harrisburg's Regional Price Parity is 98.7 (1.3% less than national); rent RPP 96.3.
What is the average salary in Harrisburg? ▼
Harrisburg median salary: $66,873, 327,450 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Harrisburg's 43.1/100 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.