Metro Life Score
Kenosha, WI
Bottom-quartile composite Life Score — grade C, 23rd percentile of the national corpus.
- 43.5
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #299
- of 387 metros
- 23%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Kenosha is bottom-quartile composite Life Score — #299 of 387 (43.5/100, grade C, 23rd percentile). Carried by wages at 70/100; held back most by cost of living at 17/100.
- 23rd
- composite percentile
- #299
- of 387 peers
- 17th
- cost dimension percentile
- 70th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · signature cost
Kenosha: cost pressure is the outlier
Kenosha is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 17th percentile (DEAR) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 70th and composite #299. Cost of Living (17/100) is the main drag; Wages (70/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Kenosha, WI ranks #299 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #322 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 101.1 (rent-RPP 95.8). BLS median salary $68,406, 69,670 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,402/mo (studio $1,085).
FBI UCR (WI): 280 violent, 1157 property/100K. NCES: 14.1:1 ratio, 10.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,256/yr. EPA: 46 Superfund sites (WI).
Where Kenosha sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
44 23rd percentile higher than 23% 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 43.5 is built
Kenosha's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Kenosha scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are WI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Kenosha With...
Ranking Context
Kenosha outranks 23% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #296 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 43.6 | C |
| #297 | State College, PA | 43.7 | C |
| #298 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | 43.8 | C |
| #299 | Kenosha, WI | 43.5 | C |
| #300 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 43.5 | C |
| #301 | Albuquerque, NM | 43.2 | C |
| #302 | Fresno, CA | 43.2 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
Kenosha, WI's quality rank (bottom 23% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 17% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
WI Metro Scores
Read with Kenosha
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Kenosha (LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
ABS(composite) peer at 43.5 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 43.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
State College, PA
ABS(composite) peer at 43.7 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Albuquerque, NM
ABS(composite) peer at 43.2 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH.
Reno, NV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 17/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 17/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp DEAR vs this metro's DEAR.
Kenosha, WI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · RENT-SQUEEZE · DEAR/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Kenosha's bottom-third Life Score
Kenosha scores 43.5/100 overall, but Wages (70.2) and Cost of Living (16.8) sit 53.4 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Wages is the strongest of Kenosha's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Cost of Living is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Oshkosh is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Oshkosh
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.