Metro Life Score

Kenosha, WI

Compiled byPlainCompare Editorial, PlainCompare Editorial Team · Updated May 16, 2026

46.0
Life Score / 100: C+
Grade (curved): #254
of 387 metros: 34%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Kenosha ranks #254 of 387 US metros, ahead of 34% - carried by its wages (71/100) and held back most by cost of living (17/100).

71
strongest: Wages: 61
then: Safety: 17
weakest: Cost of Living: 7
weighted dimensions

Where Kenosha sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 34th percentile higher than 34% 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 · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Kenosha Life Score

Kenosha's composite score of 46.0 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #254 of 387, ahead of 34% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (71/100) and Safety (61/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (17/100) and Rent (39/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.4:1 ratio, 10.7% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,256/yr. EPA: 46 Superfund sites (WI). Ranks #251-#257 below.

Dimension detail

How Kenosha scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 17/100 (20%)

Wages 71/100 (20%)

Rent 39/100 (15%)

Safety 61/100 (15%)

Schools 47/100 (10%)

Childcare 41/100 (10%)

Environment 47/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

101.1

Cost Index (RPP)

$68,406

Avg Median Salary

$1,402

2BR Fair Market Rent

280

Violent Crime/100K (WI)

14.4:1

Student-Teacher Ratio

$11,256

Infant Childcare/yr (WI)

Superfund Sites (WI)

69,670

Total Employment

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

Compare Kenosha With...

Kenosha vs Wausau Compare → Kenosha vs Duluth Compare → Kenosha vs Oshkosh Compare → Kenosha vs Wildwood Compare → Kenosha vs Waterloo Compare → Kenosha vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Kenosha outranks 34% of U.S. metros.

Rank	Metro	Score	Grade
#251	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	46.1	C+
#252	Salisbury, MD	46.1	C+
#253	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	46.4	C+
#254	Kenosha, WI	46.0	C+
#255	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	46.0	C+
#256	Punta Gorda, FL	46.0	C+
#257	Tucson, AZ	46.0	C+

WI Metro Scores

Wausau, WI A- 61.1 Duluth, MN-WI A- 60.2 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI A- 60.1 Sheboygan, WI A- 59.8 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN A- 59.1 Madison, WI B+ 56.9

Using Kenosha's Life Score

Kenosha 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 wages (71/100) and its weakest is cost of living (17/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
Put Kenosha head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
See where Kenosha 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 Kenosha's biggest strengths? ▼

Kenosha's strongest dimensions are Wages (71/100), Safety (61/100), Schools (47/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.

What are Kenosha's weakest areas? ▼

Kenosha's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (17/100), Rent (39/100), Childcare (41/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.

How expensive is Kenosha compared to the national average? ▼

Kenosha's Regional Price Parity is 101.1 (1.1% more than national); rent RPP 95.8.

What is the average salary in Kenosha? ▼

Kenosha median salary: $68,406, 69,670 jobs. Top: Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Stockers and Order Fillers, Retail Salespersons.

How is the life score calculated? ▼

Kenosha's 46.0/100 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.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

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.