Metro Life Score
Johnson City, TN
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 28th percentile of the national corpus.
- 45.1
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #277
- of 387 metros
- 28%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Johnson City is below-median composite Life Score — #277 of 387 (45.1/100, grade C, 28th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 88/100; held back most by safety at 3/100.
- 28th
- composite percentile
- #277
- of 387 peers
- 87th
- cost dimension percentile
- 9th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · COST-LED · signature wages
Johnson City: wage lag defines the peer set
Johnson City is a LOWER-band metro where wages sit at only the 9th percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (87th) and composite #277. Safety at 3/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (88/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Johnson City, TN ranks #277 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #49 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.9 (rent-RPP 63.2). BLS median salary $57,056, 74,580 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,132/mo (studio $887).
FBI UCR (TN): 602 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,860/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (TN).
Where Johnson City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
45 28th percentile higher than 28% 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 45.1 is built
Johnson City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Johnson City scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Johnson City With...
Ranking Context
Johnson City outranks 28% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #274 | San Angelo, TX | 45.2 | C |
| #275 | Punta Gorda, FL | 45.3 | C |
| #276 | Port St. Lucie, FL | 45.3 | C |
| #277 | Johnson City, TN | 45.1 | C |
| #278 | Medford, OR | 45.1 | C |
| #279 | Burlington, NC | 45.0 | C |
| #280 | Bellingham, WA | 44.9 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Johnson City, TN is bottom 29% lowest-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.
TN Metro Scores
Read with Johnson City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Johnson City (LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Medford, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 45.1 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Burlington, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 45.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
San Angelo, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 45.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 45.3 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Auburn-Opelika, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 87/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Terre Haute, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 88/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Johnson City, TN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Johnson City's bottom-third Life Score
Johnson City scores 45.1/100 overall, but Cost of Living (87.6) and Safety (3.1) sit 84.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Johnson City's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Safety is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Kingsport is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Kingsport
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.