PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Kokomo, IN

57.0
Life Score / 100
B+
Grade (curved)
#95
of 387 metros
75%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Kokomo ranks #95 of 387 US metros, ahead of 75% - carried by its rent (77/100) and held back most by wages (32/100).

77
strongest: Rent
76
then: Cost of Living
32
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Kokomo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

57 Top 25% higher than 75% 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%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Kokomo Life Score

Kokomo's composite score of 57.0 out of 100, a grade of B+, places the metro at rank #95 of 387, ahead of 75% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Rent (77/100) and Cost of Living (76/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (32/100) and Environment (48/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 89.6 (rent-RPP 59.3). BLS median salary $59,160, 26,100 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,123/mo (studio $884).

FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.9:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN). Ranks #92-#98 below.

Dimension detail

How Kokomo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 76/100 (20%)
Wages 32/100 (20%)
Rent 77/100 (15%)
Safety 51/100 (15%)
Schools 56/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 48/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

89.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,160
Avg Median Salary
$1,123
2BR Fair Market Rent
308
Violent Crime/100K (IN)
15.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
53
Superfund Sites (IN)
26,100
Total Employment

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

Compare Kokomo With...

Kokomo vs Terre Haute Compare → Kokomo vs Muncie Compare → Kokomo vs Louisville/Jefferson County Compare → Kokomo vs Wildwood Compare → Kokomo vs Waterloo Compare → Kokomo vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Kokomo outranks 75% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#92 Rockford, IL 57.1 B+
#93 Wilmington, NC 57.2 B+
#94 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC 57.2 B+
#95 Kokomo, IN 57.0 B+
#96 Dalton, GA 56.9 B+
#97 Greensboro-High Point, NC 56.9 B+
#98 Madison, WI 56.9 B+

IN Metro Scores

Terre Haute, IN A 63.5 Muncie, IN A- 61.0 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN A- 60.3 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI B 55.2 Evansville, IN B 53.8 Elkhart-Goshen, IN B- 52.4

Using Kokomo's Life Score

Kokomo 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 rent (77/100) and its weakest is wages (32/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Kokomo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Kokomo 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 Kokomo's biggest strengths? ▼
Kokomo's strongest dimensions are Rent (77/100), Cost of Living (76/100), Schools (56/100). Rent is top-tier nationally.
What are Kokomo's weakest areas? ▼
Kokomo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (32/100), Environment (48/100), Safety (51/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Kokomo compared to the national average? ▼
Kokomo's Regional Price Parity is 89.6 (10.4% less than national); rent RPP 59.3.
What is the average salary in Kokomo? ▼
Kokomo median salary: $59,160, 26,100 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Kokomo's 57.0/100 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.

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.