Metro Life Score
Hot Springs, AR
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 41st percentile of the national corpus.
- 47.5
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #229
- of 387 metros
- 41%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Hot Springs is below-median composite Life Score — #229 of 387 (47.5/100, grade C+, 41st percentile). Carried by cost of living at 96/100; held back most by wages at 1/100.
- 41st
- composite percentile
- #229
- of 387 peers
- 96th
- cost dimension percentile
- 1st
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature wages
Hot Springs: wage lag defines the peer set
Hot Springs is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 1st percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (96th) and composite #229. Wages at 1/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (96/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Hot Springs, AR ranks #229 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #15 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 85.7 (rent-RPP 57.3). BLS median salary $51,849, 33,280 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,090/mo (studio $829).
FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.4:1 ratio, 9.7% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR).
Where Hot Springs sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
48 41st percentile higher than 41% 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 47.5 is built
Hot Springs's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Hot Springs scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AR state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Hot Springs With...
Ranking Context
Hot Springs outranks 41% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #226 | Grants Pass, OR | 47.6 | C+ |
| #227 | Winchester, VA-WV | 47.8 | C+ |
| #228 | Naples-Marco Island, FL | 47.8 | C+ |
| #229 | Hot Springs, AR | 47.5 | C+ |
| #230 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 47.5 | C+ |
| #231 | Columbus, IN | 47.4 | C+ |
| #232 | Odessa, TX | 47.4 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Hot Springs, AR is bottom 41% lowest-quality nationally and also top 4% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
AR Metro Scores
Read with Hot Springs
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Hot Springs (MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 47.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Columbus, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 47.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Grants Pass, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 47.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Odessa, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 47.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Joplin, MO-KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 97/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lake Charles, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Hot Springs, AR relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Hot Springs's middle-third Life Score
Hot Springs scores 47.5/100 overall, but Cost of Living (96.4) and Wages (1.0) sit 95.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Hot Springs's seven dimensions (weighted 20% 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
- Fort Smith is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Fort Smith
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.