PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Johnstown, PA

56.4
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#105
of 387 metros
73%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Johnstown ranks #105 of 387 US metros, ahead of 73% - carried by its cost of living (95/100) and held back most by wages (8/100).

95
strongest: Cost of Living
90
then: Rent
8
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Johnstown sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

56 73th percentile higher than 73% 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 Johnstown Life Score

Johnstown's composite score of 56.4 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #105 of 387, ahead of 73% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (95/100) and Rent (90/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (8/100) and Schools (16/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 85.9 (rent-RPP 42.3). BLS median salary $57,143, 42,320 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,035/mo (studio $840).

FBI UCR (PA): 250 violent, 1457 property/100K. NCES: 13.6:1 ratio, 6.0% charter. EPA: 127 Superfund sites (PA). Ranks #102-#108 below.

Dimension detail

How Johnstown scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 95/100 (20%)
Wages 8/100 (20%)
Rent 90/100 (15%)
Safety 70/100 (15%)
Schools 16/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 45/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,143
Avg Median Salary
$1,035
2BR Fair Market Rent
250
Violent Crime/100K (PA)
13.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
127
Superfund Sites (PA)
42,320
Total Employment

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

Compare Johnstown With...

Johnstown vs Williamsport Compare → Johnstown vs Pittsburgh Compare → Johnstown vs York Compare → Johnstown vs Wildwood Compare → Johnstown vs Waterloo Compare → Johnstown vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Johnstown outranks 73% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#102 Raleigh-Cary, NC 56.5 B+
#103 Niles, MI 56.5 B+
#104 Beckley, WV 56.5 B+
#105 Johnstown, PA 56.4 B+
#106 Alexandria, LA 56.4 B+
#107 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH 56.3 B+
#108 Goldsboro, NC 56.2 B+

PA Metro Scores

Williamsport, PA B 54.7 Pittsburgh, PA B 54.0 York-Hanover, PA B 52.7 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA B- 51.9 State College, PA B- 49.9 Erie, PA B- 48.9

Using Johnstown's Life Score

Johnstown 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 cost of living (95/100) and its weakest is wages (8/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Johnstown head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Johnstown 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 Johnstown's biggest strengths? ▼
Johnstown's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (95/100), Rent (90/100), Safety (70/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Johnstown's weakest areas? ▼
Johnstown's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (8/100), Schools (16/100), Environment (45/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Johnstown compared to the national average? ▼
Johnstown's Regional Price Parity is 85.9 (14.1% less than national); rent RPP 42.3.
What is the average salary in Johnstown? ▼
Johnstown median salary: $57,143, 42,320 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Johnstown's 56.4/100 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.