PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Joplin, MO-KS

51.7
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#173
of 387 metros
55%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Joplin ranks #173 of 387 US metros, ahead of 55% - carried by its rent (99/100) and held back most by schools (12/100).

99
strongest: Rent
97
then: Cost of Living
12
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Joplin sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

52 55th percentile higher than 55% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 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 Joplin Life Score

Joplin's composite score of 51.7 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #173 of 387, ahead of 55% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (99/100) and Cost of Living (97/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (12/100) and Safety (15/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 12.8:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO). Ranks #170-#176 below.

Dimension detail

How Joplin scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 97/100 (20%)
Wages 22/100 (20%)
Rent 99/100 (15%)
Safety 15/100 (15%)
Schools 12/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 45/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.7
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,697
Avg Median Salary
$877
2BR Fair Market Rent
463
Violent Crime/100K (MO)
12.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
39
Superfund Sites (MO)
77,720
Total Employment

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

Compare Joplin With...

Joplin vs St. Joseph Compare → Joplin vs St. Louis Compare → Joplin vs Springfield Compare → Joplin vs Wildwood Compare → Joplin vs Waterloo Compare → Joplin vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Joplin outranks 55% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#170 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 51.9 B-
#171 College Station-Bryan, TX 52.0 B-
#172 Fort Wayne, IN 52.1 B-
#173 Joplin, MO-KS 51.7 B-
#174 Appleton, WI 51.6 B-
#175 Casper, WY 51.5 B-
#176 Cheyenne, WY 51.5 B-

MO Metro Scores

St. Joseph, MO-KS B+ 55.5 St. Louis, MO-IL B 54.7 Springfield, MO B- 49.7 Jefferson City, MO C+ 46.5 Kansas City, MO-KS C 45.5 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL C 44.5

Using Joplin's Life Score

Joplin 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 rent (99/100) and its weakest is schools (12/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Joplin head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Joplin 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 Joplin's biggest strengths? ▼
Joplin's strongest dimensions are Rent (99/100), Cost of Living (97/100), Environment (45/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Joplin's weakest areas? ▼
Joplin's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (12/100), Safety (15/100), Wages (22/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Joplin compared to the national average? ▼
Joplin's Regional Price Parity is 85.7 (14.3% less than national); rent RPP 54.0.
What is the average salary in Joplin? ▼
Joplin median salary: $57,697, 77,720 jobs. Top: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Registered Nurses, Stockers and Order Fillers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Joplin's 51.7/100 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.