Metro Life Score
Hattiesburg, MS
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 94th percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.9
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #23
- of 387 metros
- 94%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Hattiesburg is top-10% composite Life Score — #23 of 387 (62.9/100, grade A, 94th percentile). Carried by childcare at 99/100; held back most by wages at 1/100.
- 94th
- composite percentile
- #23
- of 387 peers
- 89th
- cost dimension percentile
- 1st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature wages
Hattiesburg: wage lag defines the peer set
Hattiesburg is a TOP-band metro where wages sit at only the 1st percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (89th) and composite #23. Wages at 1/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (99/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Hattiesburg, MS ranks #23 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #42 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.6 (rent-RPP 60.1). BLS median salary $51,744, 54,020 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,047/mo (studio $766).
FBI UCR (MS): 143 violent, 953 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 0.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,498/yr. EPA: 14 Superfund sites (MS).
Where Hattiesburg sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
63 Top 6% higher than 94% 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 62.9 is built
Hattiesburg's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Hattiesburg scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MS state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Hattiesburg With...
Ranking Context
Hattiesburg outranks 94% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #20 | Idaho Falls, ID | 63.2 | A |
| #21 | Decatur, AL | 63.4 | A |
| #22 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 63.4 | A |
| #23 | Hattiesburg, MS | 62.9 | A |
| #24 | Dubuque, IA | 62.9 | A |
| #25 | Bowling Green, KY | 62.8 | A |
| #26 | Duluth, MN-WI | 62.7 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Hattiesburg, MS's quality rank (top 6% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 11% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MS Metro Scores
Read with Hattiesburg
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Hattiesburg (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Dubuque, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Bowling Green, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 62.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Duluth, MN-WI
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Albany, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 89/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
St. Cloud, MN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 90/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Hattiesburg, MS relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Hattiesburg's top-third Life Score
Hattiesburg scores 62.9/100 overall, but Childcare (98.5) and Wages (0.8) sit 97.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Hattiesburg's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Gulfport is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Gulfport
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.