Metro Life Score
Joplin, MO-KS
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B, 63rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 52.6
- Life Score / 100
- B
- Grade (curved)
- #145
- of 387 metros
- 63%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Joplin is above-median composite Life Score — #145 of 387 (52.6/100, grade B, 63rd percentile). Carried by rent at 99/100; held back most by schools at 12/100.
- 63rd
- composite percentile
- #145
- of 387 peers
- 96th
- cost dimension percentile
- 13th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature cost
Joplin: affordability leads the Life Score story
Joplin is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 96th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #145 (52.6/100, grade B). Rent at 99/100 carries the upside; Schools at 12/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Joplin, MO-KS ranks #145 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #14 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 85.7 (rent-RPP 54.0). BLS median salary $57,697, 77,720 jobs (Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Registered Nurses, Stockers and Order Fillers). HUD 2BR FMR $877/mo (studio $664).
FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.2:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO).
Where Joplin sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
53 63rd percentile higher than 63% 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 52.6 is built
Joplin's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Joplin 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 Joplin With...
Ranking Context
Joplin outranks 63% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #142 | Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 52.7 | B |
| #143 | Springfield, OH | 52.9 | B |
| #144 | Madison, WI | 52.9 | B |
| #145 | Joplin, MO-KS | 52.6 | B |
| #146 | Appleton, WI | 52.6 | B |
| #147 | Fayetteville, NC | 52.5 | B |
| #148 | Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 52.5 | B |
Quality vs. Affordability
Joplin, MO-KS is top 37% highest-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.
MO Metro Scores
Read with Joplin
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Joplin (MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Appleton, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 52.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 52.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Fayetteville, NC
ABS(composite) peer at 52.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 52.5 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B vs this page's MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Hot Springs, AR (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 96/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Alexandria, LA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 97/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Joplin, MO-KS relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Joplin's middle-third Life Score
Joplin scores 52.6/100 overall, but Rent (99.5) and Schools (12.2) sit 87.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Joplin'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.