PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Kankakee, IL

41.9
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#305
of 387 metros
21%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Kankakee ranks #305 of 387 US metros, ahead of 21% - carried by its safety (64/100) and held back most by childcare (27/100).

64
strongest: Safety
48
then: Rent
27
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Kankakee sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

42 21th percentile higher than 21% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Kankakee Life Score

Kankakee's composite score of 41.9 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #305 of 387, ahead of 21% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (64/100) and Rent (48/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (27/100) and Wages (33/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 96.4 (rent-RPP 92.9). BLS median salary $61,541, 36,680 jobs (Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,326/mo (studio $914).

FBI UCR (IL): 277 violent, 1665 property/100K. NCES: 14.0:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $12,257/yr. EPA: 56 Superfund sites (IL). Ranks #302-#308 below.

Dimension detail

How Kankakee scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 37/100 (20%)
Wages 33/100 (20%)
Rent 48/100 (15%)
Safety 64/100 (15%)
Schools 39/100 (10%)
Childcare 27/100 (10%)
Environment 46/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

96.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$61,541
Avg Median Salary
$1,326
2BR Fair Market Rent
277
Violent Crime/100K (IL)
14.0:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$12,257
Infant Childcare/yr (IL)
56
Superfund Sites (IL)
36,680
Total Employment

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

Compare Kankakee With...

Kankakee vs Paducah Compare → Kankakee vs Peoria Compare → Kankakee vs Davenport Compare → Kankakee vs Wildwood Compare → Kankakee vs Waterloo Compare →

Ranking Context

Kankakee outranks 21% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#302 Worcester, MA 42.1 C
#303 Abilene, TX 42.1 C
#304 Rochester, NY 42.3 C
#305 Kankakee, IL 41.9 C
#306 Bangor, ME 41.9 C
#307 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC 41.9 C
#308 Hinesville, GA 41.9 C

IL Metro Scores

Paducah, KY-IL A+ 70.0 Peoria, IL A 63.9 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL A 61.7 Decatur, IL B+ 58.7 Springfield, IL B+ 57.8 Rockford, IL B+ 57.1

Using Kankakee's Life Score

Kankakee 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 safety (64/100) and its weakest is childcare (27/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Kankakee head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Kankakee 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 Kankakee's biggest strengths? ▼
Kankakee's strongest dimensions are Safety (64/100), Rent (48/100), Environment (46/100).
What are Kankakee's weakest areas? ▼
Kankakee's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (27/100), Wages (33/100), Cost of Living (37/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Kankakee compared to the national average? ▼
Kankakee's Regional Price Parity is 96.4 (3.6% less than national); rent RPP 92.9.
What is the average salary in Kankakee? ▼
Kankakee median salary: $61,541, 36,680 jobs. Top: Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Kankakee's 41.9/100 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.