Metro Life Score
Jonesboro, AR
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 49th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.4
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #199
- of 387 metros
- 49%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Jonesboro is below-median composite Life Score — #199 of 387 (49.4/100, grade B-, 49th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 96/100; held back most by safety at 5/100.
- 49th
- composite percentile
- #199
- of 387 peers
- 96th
- cost dimension percentile
- 5th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature cost
Jonesboro: affordability leads the Life Score story
Jonesboro is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 96th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #199 (49.4/100, grade B-). Cost of Living at 96/100 carries the upside; Safety at 5/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Jonesboro, AR ranks #199 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #17 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 85.9 (rent-RPP 53.8). BLS median salary $55,412, 55,350 jobs (Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,040/mo (studio $805).
FBI UCR (AR): 580 violent, 1940 property/100K. NCES: 13.4:1 ratio, 9.7% charter. EPA: 17 Superfund sites (AR).
Where Jonesboro sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 49th percentile higher than 49% 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 49.4 is built
Jonesboro's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Jonesboro scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AR state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Jonesboro With...
Ranking Context
Jonesboro outranks 49% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #196 | Springfield, MO | 49.7 | B- |
| #197 | Harrisonburg, VA | 49.7 | B- |
| #198 | Corpus Christi, TX | 49.7 | B- |
| #199 | Jonesboro, AR | 49.4 | B- |
| #200 | York-Hanover, PA | 49.4 | B- |
| #201 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 49.3 | B- |
| #202 | Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 49.3 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Jonesboro, AR is bottom 49% lowest-quality nationally and also top 4% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
AR Metro Scores
Read with Jonesboro
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Jonesboro (MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
York-Hanover, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 49.4 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 49.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
ABS(composite) peer at 49.3 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 49.2 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Fort Smith, AR-OK (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Lake Charles, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Jonesboro, AR relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Jonesboro's middle-third Life Score
Jonesboro scores 49.4/100 overall, but Cost of Living (95.9) and Safety (4.7) sit 91.2 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Jonesboro'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
- Fort Smith is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Fort Smith
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.