PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Jacksonville, FL

59.0
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#70
of 387 metros
82%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Jacksonville ranks #70 of 387 US metros, ahead of 82% - carried by its safety (87/100) and held back most by cost of living (24/100).

87
strongest: Safety
83
then: Schools
24
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Jacksonville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

59 Top 18% higher than 82% 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%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Jacksonville Life Score

Jacksonville's composite score of 59.0 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #70 of 387, ahead of 82% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (87/100) and Schools (83/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (24/100) and Environment (43/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #67-#73 below.

Dimension detail

How Jacksonville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 24/100 (20%)
Wages 57/100 (20%)
Rent 80/100 (15%)
Safety 87/100 (15%)
Schools 83/100 (10%)
Childcare 51/100 (10%)
Environment 43/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

99.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$67,763
Avg Median Salary
$1,103
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
749,800
Total Employment

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

Compare Jacksonville With...

Jacksonville vs Wildwood Compare → Jacksonville vs Tallahassee Compare → Jacksonville vs Sebring Compare → Jacksonville vs Waterloo Compare → Jacksonville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Jacksonville outranks 82% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#67 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN 59.1 A-
#68 Lima, OH 59.2 A-
#69 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 59.2 A-
#70 Jacksonville, FL 59.0 B+
#71 Decatur, IL 58.7 B+
#72 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 58.7 B+
#73 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 58.7 B+

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Tallahassee, FL B 54.9 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0 Naples-Marco Island, FL B- 49.8

Using Jacksonville's Life Score

Jacksonville 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 (87/100) and its weakest is cost of living (24/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Jacksonville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville's biggest strengths? ▼
Jacksonville's strongest dimensions are Safety (87/100), Schools (83/100), Rent (80/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Jacksonville's weakest areas? ▼
Jacksonville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (24/100), Environment (43/100), Childcare (51/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Jacksonville compared to the national average? ▼
Jacksonville's Regional Price Parity is 99.5 (0.5% less than national); rent RPP 109.8.
What is the average salary in Jacksonville? ▼
Jacksonville median salary: $67,763, 749,800 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Jacksonville's 59.0/100 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.