Metro Life Score
Harrisonburg, VA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 49th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.7
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #197
- of 387 metros
- 49%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Harrisonburg is below-median composite Life Score — #197 of 387 (49.7/100, grade B-, 49th percentile). Carried by safety at 88/100; held back most by schools at 25/100.
- 49th
- composite percentile
- #197
- of 387 peers
- 43rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 39th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · SAFE-LED · signature wages
Harrisonburg: mid-wage metro with a distinct composite shape
Harrisonburg is mid-curve on wages (≈39th percentile, LOW) with composite #197 (49.7/100, grade B-). Cost mark MID; profile SAFE-LED. Gap between strongest and weakest dimensions: 63 points. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Harrisonburg, VA ranks #197 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #219 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 94.9 (rent-RPP 82.3). BLS median salary $62,347, 56,170 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,322/mo (studio $1,050).
FBI UCR (VA): 223 violent, 1590 property/100K. NCES: 13.7:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,445/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA).
Where Harrisonburg sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
50 49th percentile higher than 49% 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 49.7 is built
Harrisonburg's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Harrisonburg scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are VA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Harrisonburg With...
Ranking Context
Harrisonburg outranks 49% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #194 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 49.8 | B- |
| #195 | Fort Smith, AR-OK | 49.8 | B- |
| #196 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 49.8 | B- |
| #197 | Harrisonburg, VA | 49.7 | B- |
| #198 | Bangor, ME | 49.7 | B- |
| #199 | Bloomington, IN | 49.7 | B- |
| #200 | Corpus Christi, TX | 49.7 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Harrisonburg, VA's quality rank (bottom 49% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 44% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
VA Metro Scores
Read with Harrisonburg
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Harrisonburg (MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bangor, ME
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Bloomington, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Corpus Christi, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Springfield, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW.
Glens Falls, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 44/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 43/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Harrisonburg, VA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · SAFE-LED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Harrisonburg's middle-third Life Score
Harrisonburg scores 49.7/100 overall, but Safety (88.3) and Schools (24.9) sit 63.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Harrisonburg'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
- Blacksburg is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Blacksburg
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.