PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Harrisonburg, VA

47.0
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#237
of 387 metros
39%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Harrisonburg ranks #237 of 387 US metros, ahead of 39% - carried by its safety (80/100) and held back most by schools (24/100).

80
strongest: Safety
54
then: Childcare
24
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Harrisonburg sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 39th percentile higher than 39% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Harrisonburg Life Score

Harrisonburg's composite score of 47.0 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #237 of 387, ahead of 39% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (80/100) and Childcare (54/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (24/100) and Wages (37/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,407/yr. EPA: 35 Superfund sites (VA). Ranks #234-#240 below.

Dimension detail

How Harrisonburg scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 44/100 (20%)
Wages 37/100 (20%)
Rent 49/100 (15%)
Safety 80/100 (15%)
Schools 24/100 (10%)
Childcare 54/100 (10%)
Environment 38/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

94.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$62,347
Avg Median Salary
$1,322
2BR Fair Market Rent
223
Violent Crime/100K (VA)
13.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,407
Infant Childcare/yr (VA)
35
Superfund Sites (VA)
56,170
Total Employment

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

Compare Harrisonburg With...

Harrisonburg vs Lynchburg Compare → Harrisonburg vs Staunton Compare → Harrisonburg vs Virginia Beach Compare → Harrisonburg vs Wildwood Compare → Harrisonburg vs Waterloo Compare → Harrisonburg vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Harrisonburg outranks 39% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#234 Johnson City, TN 47.1 C+
#235 Yuma, AZ 47.2 C+
#236 Tyler, TX 47.2 C+
#237 Harrisonburg, VA 47.0 C+
#238 Bloomington, IN 47.0 C+
#239 Reading, PA 47.0 C+
#240 Binghamton, NY 46.9 C+

VA Metro Scores

Lynchburg, VA A- 59.3 Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA B+ 57.4 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC B+ 57.2 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA B 55.0 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA B 53.9 Richmond, VA B 52.8

Using Harrisonburg's Life Score

Harrisonburg 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 (80/100) and its weakest is schools (24/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Harrisonburg head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg's biggest strengths? ▼
Harrisonburg's strongest dimensions are Safety (80/100), Childcare (54/100), Rent (49/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Harrisonburg's weakest areas? ▼
Harrisonburg's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (24/100), Wages (37/100), Environment (38/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Harrisonburg compared to the national average? ▼
Harrisonburg's Regional Price Parity is 94.9 (5.1% less than national); rent RPP 82.3.
What is the average salary in Harrisonburg? ▼
Harrisonburg median salary: $62,347, 56,170 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Harrisonburg's 47.0/100 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.