Metro Life Score
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 46th percentile of the national corpus.
- 49.0
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #209
- of 387 metros
- 46%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Lansing-East Lansing is below-median composite Life Score — #209 of 387 (49.0/100, grade B-, 46th percentile). Carried by childcare at 81/100; held back most by environment at 11/100.
- 46th
- composite percentile
- #209
- of 387 peers
- 43rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 63rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature wages
Lansing-East Lansing: mid-wage metro with a distinct composite shape
Lansing-East Lansing is mid-curve on wages (≈63rd percentile, MID) with composite #209 (49.0/100, grade B-). Cost mark MID; profile BALANCED. Gap between strongest and weakest dimensions: 70 points. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Lansing-East Lansing, MI ranks #209 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #220 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 95.0 (rent-RPP 83.5). BLS median salary $66,647, 207,670 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Office Clerks, General, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,268/mo (studio $973).
FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI).
Where Lansing-East Lansing sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 46th percentile higher than 46% 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 49.0 is built
Lansing-East Lansing's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Lansing-East Lansing scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Lansing-East Lansing With...
Ranking Context
Lansing-East Lansing outranks 46% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #206 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 49.1 | B- |
| #207 | Ocala, FL | 49.1 | B- |
| #208 | Reno, NV | 49.2 | B- |
| #209 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #210 | Columbia, MO | 49.0 | B- |
| #211 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #212 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Lansing-East Lansing, MI's quality rank (bottom 46% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 43% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
MI Metro Scores
Read with Lansing-East Lansing
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Lansing-East Lansing (MID · BALANCED · MID/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Columbia, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/MID.
Bloomington, IN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 43/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Harrisonburg, VA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 44/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · MID/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Lansing-East Lansing's middle-third Life Score
Lansing-East Lansing scores 49.0/100 overall, but Childcare (80.9) and Environment (10.9) sit 70.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Lansing-East Lansing's seven dimensions (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Environment is the weakest (weighted 10% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Battle Creek is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Battle Creek
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.