Metro Life Score
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 46th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.0
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #208
- of 387 metros
- 46%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Kalamazoo-Portage is below-median composite Life Score — #208 of 387 (49.0/100, grade B-, 46th percentile). Carried by childcare at 81/100; held back most by environment at 11/100.
- 46th
- composite percentile
- #208
- of 387 peers
- 44th
- cost dimension percentile
- 49th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature cost
Kalamazoo-Portage: mid-pack cost with a distinct Life Score shape
Kalamazoo-Portage sits mid-pack on cost (≈44th percentile, MID) with composite #208 of 387 (49.0/100). Profile BALANCED; wages mark MID. Strongest childcare 81/100; weakest environment 11/100. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Kalamazoo-Portage, MI ranks #208 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #217 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 94.8 (rent-RPP 81.6). BLS median salary $64,013, 114,320 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,162/mo (studio $838).
FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI).
Where Kalamazoo-Portage sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 46th percentile higher than 46% 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 49.0 is built
Kalamazoo-Portage's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Kalamazoo-Portage scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Kalamazoo-Portage With...
Ranking Context
Kalamazoo-Portage outranks 46% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #205 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 49.1 | B- |
| #206 | Ocala, FL | 49.1 | B- |
| #207 | Reno, NV | 49.2 | B- |
| #208 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #209 | Columbia, MO | 49.0 | B- |
| #210 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #211 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI's quality rank (bottom 47% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 44% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MI Metro Scores
Read with Kalamazoo-Portage
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Kalamazoo-Portage (MID · BALANCED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Columbia, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Glens Falls, NY (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 44/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Lewiston-Auburn, ME (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 44/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Kalamazoo-Portage's middle-third Life Score
Kalamazoo-Portage scores 49.0/100 overall, but Childcare (81.2) and Environment (10.6) sit 70.6 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Kalamazoo-Portage's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Battle Creek is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Battle Creek
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.