Metro Life Score
Laredo, TX
Above-median composite Life Score — grade B+, 72nd percentile of the national corpus.
- 55.2
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #107
- of 387 metros
- 72%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Laredo is above-median composite Life Score — #107 of 387 (55.2/100, grade B+, 72nd percentile). Carried by cost of living at 92/100; held back most by wages at 2/100.
- 72nd
- composite percentile
- #107
- of 387 peers
- 91st
- cost dimension percentile
- 2nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · COST-LED · signature wages
Laredo: wage lag defines the peer set
Laredo is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 2nd percentile (LOW) while cost is FLOOR (91st) and composite #107. Wages at 2/100 is the clearest drag; Cost of Living (92/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Laredo, TX ranks #107 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #33 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 87.0 (rent-RPP 59.7). BLS median salary $53,494, 102,920 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,161/mo (studio $956).
FBI UCR (TX): 395 violent, 2058 property/100K. NCES: 14.4:1 ratio, 11.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX).
Where Laredo sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
55 72nd percentile higher than 72% 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 55.2 is built
Laredo's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Laredo scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are TX state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Laredo With...
Ranking Context
Laredo outranks 72% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #104 | Rome, GA | 55.4 | B+ |
| #105 | La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 55.4 | B+ |
| #106 | Tuscaloosa, AL | 55.5 | B+ |
| #107 | Laredo, TX | 55.2 | B+ |
| #108 | Manhattan, KS | 55.2 | B+ |
| #109 | Roanoke, VA | 55.2 | B+ |
| #110 | Champaign-Urbana, IL | 55.0 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Laredo, TX is top 28% highest-quality nationally and also top 9% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
TX Metro Scores
Read with Laredo
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Laredo (UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Manhattan, KS
ABS(composite) peer at 55.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Roanoke, VA
ABS(composite) peer at 55.2 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN
ABS(composite) peer at 55.4 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Rome, GA
ABS(composite) peer at 55.4 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW.
Florence, SC (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 92/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Minot, ND (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 91/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Laredo, TX relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · COST-LED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Laredo's top-third Life Score
Laredo scores 55.2/100 overall, but Cost of Living (91.7) and Wages (1.8) sit 89.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Cost of Living is the strongest of Laredo's seven dimensions (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is your priority, this is where the metro earns its rank. See all seven dimensions
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Beaumont is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Beaumont
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.