PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Laredo, TX

50.8
Life Score / 100
B-
Grade (curved)
#182
of 387 metros
53%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Laredo ranks #182 of 387 US metros, ahead of 53% - carried by its cost of living (92/100) and held back most by wages (2/100).

92
strongest: Cost of Living
75
then: Childcare
2
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Laredo sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

51 53th percentile higher than 53% 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 Laredo Life Score

Laredo's composite score of 50.8 out of 100, a grade of B-, places the metro at rank #182 of 387, ahead of 53% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (92/100) and Childcare (75/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (2/100) and Safety (33/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

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: 14.7:1 ratio, 11.4% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,566/yr. EPA: 70 Superfund sites (TX). Ranks #179-#185 below.

Dimension detail

How Laredo scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 92/100 (20%)
Wages 2/100 (20%)
Rent 72/100 (15%)
Safety 33/100 (15%)
Schools 39/100 (10%)
Childcare 75/100 (10%)
Environment 51/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

87.0
Cost Index (RPP)
$53,494
Avg Median Salary
$1,161
2BR Fair Market Rent
395
Violent Crime/100K (TX)
14.7:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,566
Infant Childcare/yr (TX)
70
Superfund Sites (TX)
102,920
Total Employment

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

Compare Laredo With...

Laredo vs Texarkana Compare → Laredo vs Waco Compare → Laredo vs San Antonio Compare → Laredo vs Wildwood Compare → Laredo vs Waterloo Compare → Laredo vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Laredo outranks 53% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#179 Homosassa Springs, FL 51.0 B-
#180 Columbus, OH 51.0 B-
#181 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 51.1 B-
#182 Laredo, TX 50.8 B-
#183 Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA 50.8 B-
#184 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 50.7 B-
#185 Logan, UT-ID 50.7 B-

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX B 55.0 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9

Using Laredo's Life Score

Laredo 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 (92/100) and its weakest is wages (2/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Laredo head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Laredo 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 Laredo's biggest strengths? ▼
Laredo's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (92/100), Childcare (75/100), Rent (72/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Laredo's weakest areas? ▼
Laredo's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (2/100), Safety (33/100), Schools (39/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Laredo compared to the national average? ▼
Laredo's Regional Price Parity is 87.0 (13.0% less than national); rent RPP 59.7.
What is the average salary in Laredo? ▼
Laredo median salary: $53,494, 102,920 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Laredo's 50.8/100 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.