Metro Life Score
Iowa City, IA
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 92nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 62.0
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #31
- of 387 metros
- 92%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Iowa City is top-10% composite Life Score — #31 of 387 (62.0/100, grade A, 92nd percentile). Carried by safety at 80/100; held back most by environment at 14/100.
- 92nd
- composite percentile
- #31
- of 387 peers
- 66th
- cost dimension percentile
- 64th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · SAFE-LED · signature composite
Iowa City: top-third composite Life Score
Iowa City clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#31 of 387, 62.0/100, grade A, 92nd percentile). Stamps TOP · SAFE-LED; cost CHEAP (66th) · wages MID (64th). Safety at 80/100 carries the lead; Environment (14/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Iowa City, IA ranks #31 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #130 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.5 (rent-RPP 84.0). BLS median salary $66,752, 83,600 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,141/mo (studio $880).
FBI UCR (IA): 238 violent, 1286 property/100K. NCES: 14.1:1 ratio, 0.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $8,306/yr. EPA: 25 Superfund sites (IA).
Where Iowa City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
62 Top 8% higher than 92% 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 62.0 is built
Iowa City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Iowa City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IA state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Iowa City With...
Ranking Context
Iowa City outranks 92% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #28 | Hammond, LA | 62.1 | A |
| #29 | Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 62.2 | A |
| #30 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 62.4 | A |
| #31 | Iowa City, IA | 62.0 | A |
| #32 | Dalton, GA | 62.0 | A |
| #33 | Omaha, NE-IA | 61.9 | A |
| #34 | Texarkana, TX-AR | 61.9 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Iowa City, IA is top 8% highest-quality nationally but only top 34% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
IA Metro Scores
Read with Iowa City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Iowa City (TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Dalton, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID.
Hammond, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.1 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID.
Omaha, NE-IA
ABS(composite) peer at 61.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID.
Texarkana, TX-AR
ABS(composite) peer at 61.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID.
Chattanooga, TN-GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 67/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Evansville, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 66/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Iowa City, IA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · SAFE-LED · CHEAP/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Iowa City's top-third Life Score
Iowa City scores 62.0/100 overall, but Safety (80.1) and Environment (14.0) sit 66.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Iowa City'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
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Ames is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Ames
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.