Metro Life Score
Kansas City, MO-KS
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 38th percentile of the national corpus.
- 46.9
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #240
- of 387 metros
- 38%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Kansas City is below-median composite Life Score — #240 of 387 (46.9/100, grade C+, 38th percentile). Carried by environment at 71/100; held back most by schools at 12/100.
- 38th
- composite percentile
- #240
- of 387 peers
- 59th
- cost dimension percentile
- 67th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · ENVIRO-LED · signature wages
Kansas City: pay power is the signature
Kansas City stamps MID · ENVIRO-LED with wages at the 67th percentile of the metro corpus (HIGH) — ahead of its cost mark (MID, 59th) and composite #240. Environment (71/100) amplifies the lead; Schools (12/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Kansas City, MO-KS ranks #240 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #158 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.5 (rent-RPP 86.6). BLS median salary $67,553, 1,079,180 jobs (General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,358/mo (studio $1,095).
FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.2:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO).
Where Kansas City sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
47 38th percentile higher than 38% 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 46.9 is built
Kansas City's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Kansas City 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 Kansas City With...
Ranking Context
Kansas City outranks 38% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #237 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 47.0 | C+ |
| #238 | Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 47.0 | C+ |
| #239 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 47.1 | C+ |
| #240 | Kansas City, MO-KS | 46.9 | C+ |
| #241 | Bend, OR | 46.8 | C+ |
| #242 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 46.8 | C+ |
| #243 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 46.7 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Kansas City, MO-KS is bottom 38% lowest-quality nationally and also top 41% 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 Kansas City
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Kansas City (MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bend, OR
ABS(composite) peer at 46.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH.
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
ABS(composite) peer at 46.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH.
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV
ABS(composite) peer at 47.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH.
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 47.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH.
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 60/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Waco, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 59/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Kansas City, MO-KS relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · ENVIRO-LED · MID/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Kansas City's middle-third Life Score
Kansas City scores 46.9/100 overall, but Environment (71.0) and Schools (12.4) sit 58.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Environment is the strongest of Kansas City'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
- 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.