Metro Life Score
Jacksonville, FL
Top-10% composite Life Score — grade A, 91st percentile of the national corpus.
- 61.7
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #35
- of 387 metros
- 91%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Jacksonville is top-10% composite Life Score — #35 of 387 (61.7/100, grade A, 91st percentile). Carried by safety at 95/100; held back most by cost of living at 24/100.
- 91st
- composite percentile
- #35
- of 387 peers
- 24th
- cost dimension percentile
- 68th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature composite
Jacksonville: top-third composite Life Score
Jacksonville clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#35 of 387, 61.7/100, grade A, 91st percentile). Stamps TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE; cost DEAR (24th) · wages HIGH (68th). Safety at 95/100 carries the lead; Cost of Living (24/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Jacksonville, FL ranks #35 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #293 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 99.5 (rent-RPP 109.8). BLS median salary $67,763, 749,800 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,103/mo (studio $903).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where Jacksonville sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
62 Top 9% higher than 91% 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 61.7 is built
Jacksonville's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Jacksonville scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Jacksonville With...
Ranking Context
Jacksonville outranks 91% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #32 | Toledo, OH | 61.8 | A |
| #33 | Texarkana, TX-AR | 61.9 | A |
| #34 | Omaha, NE-IA | 61.9 | A |
| #35 | Jacksonville, FL | 61.7 | A |
| #36 | Mankato, MN | 61.4 | A |
| #37 | Grand Forks, ND-MN | 61.2 | A |
| #38 | Gulfport-Biloxi, MS | 61.2 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Jacksonville, FL is top 9% highest-quality nationally but only bottom 25% least affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
FL Metro Scores
Read with Jacksonville
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Jacksonville (TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Toledo, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 61.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Omaha, NE-IA
ABS(composite) peer at 61.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Texarkana, TX-AR
ABS(composite) peer at 61.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Dalton, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 62.0 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 25/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 24/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Jacksonville, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Jacksonville's top-third Life Score
Jacksonville scores 61.7/100 overall, but Safety (94.8) and Cost of Living (24.4) sit 70.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of Jacksonville'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
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.