PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

53.9
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#144
of 387 metros
63%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Kingsport ranks #144 of 387 US metros, ahead of 63% - carried by its cost of living (93/100) and held back most by safety (3/100).

93
strongest: Cost of Living
89
then: Rent
3
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Kingsport sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

54 63th percentile higher than 63% 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%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Kingsport Life Score

Kingsport's composite score of 53.9 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #144 of 387, ahead of 63% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (93/100) and Rent (89/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (3/100) and Wages (25/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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). Ranks #141-#147 below.

Dimension detail

How Kingsport scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 93/100 (20%)
Wages 25/100 (20%)
Rent 89/100 (15%)
Safety 3/100 (15%)
Schools 51/100 (10%)
Childcare 67/100 (10%)
Environment 47/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

86.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$57,656
Avg Median Salary
$1,044
2BR Fair Market Rent
602
Violent Crime/100K (TN)
15.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,860
Infant Childcare/yr (TN)
26
Superfund Sites (TN)
111,690
Total Employment

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

Compare Kingsport With...

Kingsport vs Morristown Compare → Kingsport vs Memphis Compare → Kingsport vs Jackson Compare → Kingsport vs Wildwood Compare → Kingsport vs Waterloo Compare → Kingsport vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Kingsport outranks 63% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#141 Pittsburgh, PA 54.0 B
#142 Macon-Bibb County, GA 54.0 B
#143 Lawrence, KS 54.0 B
#144 Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 53.9 B
#145 Wichita Falls, TX 53.9 B
#146 Evansville, IN 53.8 B
#147 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 53.8 B

TN Metro Scores

Morristown, TN B- 49.3 Memphis, TN-MS-AR C+ 47.4 Jackson, TN C+ 47.3 Johnson City, TN C+ 47.1 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN C 42.5 Cleveland, TN C 42.4

Using Kingsport's Life Score

Kingsport 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 cost of living (93/100) and its weakest is safety (3/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Kingsport head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Kingsport 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 Kingsport's biggest strengths? ▼
Kingsport's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (93/100), Rent (89/100), Childcare (67/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Kingsport's weakest areas? ▼
Kingsport's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (3/100), Wages (25/100), Environment (47/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Kingsport compared to the national average? ▼
Kingsport's Regional Price Parity is 86.4 (13.6% less than national); rent RPP 56.5.
What is the average salary in Kingsport? ▼
Kingsport median salary: $57,656, 111,690 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Kingsport's 53.9/100 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.