Metro Life Score
Jefferson City, MO
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 53rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 50.5
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #181
- of 387 metros
- 53%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Jefferson City is above-median composite Life Score — #181 of 387 (50.5/100, grade B-, 53rd percentile). Carried by rent at 89/100; held back most by schools at 12/100.
- 53rd
- composite percentile
- #181
- of 387 peers
- 87th
- cost dimension percentile
- 20th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature cost
Jefferson City: affordability leads the Life Score story
Jefferson City is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 87th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #181 (50.5/100, grade B-). Rent at 89/100 carries the upside; Schools at 12/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Jefferson City, MO ranks #181 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #51 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.0 (rent-RPP 62.1). BLS median salary $59,255, 71,510 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive). HUD 2BR FMR $1,042/mo (studio $789).
FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.2:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO).
Where Jefferson City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
51 53rd percentile higher than 53% 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 50.5 is built
Jefferson City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Jefferson City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MO state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Jefferson City With...
Ranking Context
Jefferson City outranks 53% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #178 | Williamsport, PA | 50.6 | B- |
| #179 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | 50.6 | B- |
| #180 | Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 50.7 | B- |
| #181 | Jefferson City, MO | 50.5 | B- |
| #182 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 50.4 | B- |
| #183 | El Centro, CA | 50.3 | B- |
| #184 | Florence, SC | 50.3 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Jefferson City, MO is top 47% highest-quality nationally and also top 13% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
MO Metro Scores
Read with Jefferson City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Jefferson City (MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Greensboro-High Point, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 50.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Kennewick-Richland, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Williamsport, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
El Centro, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 50.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Rocky Mount, NC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Auburn-Opelika, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Jefferson City, MO relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Jefferson City's middle-third Life Score
Jefferson City scores 50.5/100 overall, but Rent (89.4) and Schools (11.9) sit 77.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Jefferson 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
- Schools is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- St. Joseph is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with St. Joseph
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.