PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Janesville-Beloit, WI

53.6
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#148
of 387 metros
62%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Janesville ranks #148 of 387 US metros, ahead of 62% - carried by its wages (63/100) and held back most by childcare (42/100).

63
strongest: Wages
62
then: Safety
42
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Janesville sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 62th percentile higher than 62% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 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 Janesville Life Score

Janesville's composite score of 53.6 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #148 of 387, ahead of 62% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (63/100) and Safety (62/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (42/100) and Environment (44/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.7 (rent-RPP 79.6). BLS median salary $63,520, 64,420 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,246/mo (studio $900).

FBI UCR (WI): 280 violent, 1157 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 10.7% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,256/yr. EPA: 46 Superfund sites (WI). Ranks #145-#151 below.

Dimension detail

How Janesville scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 49/100 (20%)
Wages 63/100 (20%)
Rent 58/100 (15%)
Safety 62/100 (15%)
Schools 47/100 (10%)
Childcare 42/100 (10%)
Environment 44/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$63,520
Avg Median Salary
$1,246
2BR Fair Market Rent
280
Violent Crime/100K (WI)
14.4:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,256
Infant Childcare/yr (WI)
46
Superfund Sites (WI)
64,420
Total Employment

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

Compare Janesville With...

Janesville vs Wausau Compare → Janesville vs Duluth Compare → Janesville vs Oshkosh Compare → Janesville vs Wildwood Compare → Janesville vs Waterloo Compare → Janesville vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Janesville outranks 62% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#145 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 53.8 B
#146 Evansville, IN 53.8 B
#147 Wichita Falls, TX 53.9 B
#148 Janesville-Beloit, WI 53.6 B
#149 Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI 53.6 B
#150 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 53.5 B
#151 Eagle Pass, TX 53.4 B

WI Metro Scores

Wausau, WI A- 61.1 Duluth, MN-WI A- 60.2 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI A- 60.1 Sheboygan, WI A- 59.8 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN A- 59.1 Madison, WI B+ 56.9

Using Janesville's Life Score

Janesville 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 wages (63/100) and its weakest is childcare (42/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Janesville head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Janesville 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 Janesville's biggest strengths? ▼
Janesville's strongest dimensions are Wages (63/100), Safety (62/100), Rent (58/100).
What are Janesville's weakest areas? ▼
Janesville's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (42/100), Environment (44/100), Schools (47/100).
How expensive is Janesville compared to the national average? ▼
Janesville's Regional Price Parity is 93.7 (6.3% less than national); rent RPP 79.6.
What is the average salary in Janesville? ▼
Janesville median salary: $63,520, 64,420 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Janesville's 53.6/100 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.