Metro Life Score
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 45th percentile of the national corpus.
- 48.7
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #214
- of 387 metros
- 45%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Kingsport-Bristol is below-median composite Life Score — #214 of 387 (48.7/100, grade B-, 45th percentile). Carried by cost of living at 93/100; held back most by safety at 3/100.
- 45th
- composite percentile
- #214
- of 387 peers
- 93rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 12th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · COST-LED · signature cost
Kingsport-Bristol: affordability leads the Life Score story
Kingsport-Bristol is a MID-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 93rd percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #214 (48.7/100, grade B-). Cost of Living at 93/100 carries the upside; Safety at 3/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA ranks #214 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #28 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 86.4 (rent-RPP 56.5). BLS median salary $57,656, 111,690 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,044/mo (studio $720).
FBI UCR (TN): 602 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 15.3:1 ratio, 6.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,860/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (TN).
Where Kingsport-Bristol sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 45th percentile higher than 45% 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
Dimension detail
How Kingsport-Bristol scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Kingsport-Bristol With...
Ranking Context
Kingsport-Bristol outranks 45% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #211 | Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 48.9 | B- |
| #212 | Michigan City-La Porte, IN | 48.9 | B- |
| #213 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
| #214 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 48.7 | B- |
| #215 | Bloomington, IL | 48.7 | B- |
| #216 | Charlottesville, VA | 48.3 | B- |
| #217 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 48.2 | B- |
TN Metro Scores
Read with Kingsport-Bristol
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Kingsport-Bristol (MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Bloomington, IL
ABS(composite) peer at 48.7 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Columbia, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 93/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
St. Joseph, MO-KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 93/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.