PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

37.4
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#358
of 387 metros
7%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Los Angeles ranks #358 of 387 US metros, ahead of 7% - carried by its wages (98/100) and held back most by cost of living (1/100).

98
strongest: Wages
93
then: Schools
1
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Los Angeles sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

37 7th percentile higher than 7% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 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 Los Angeles Life Score

Los Angeles's composite score of 37.4 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #358 of 387, ahead of 7% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (98/100) and Schools (93/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (1/100) and Rent (3/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 113.6 (rent-RPP 170.4). BLS median salary $82,276, 6,167,970 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $2,601/mo (studio $1,863).

FBI UCR (CA): 477 violent, 1986 property/100K. NCES: 21.5:1 ratio, 12.8% charter. DOL infant childcare $17,920/yr. EPA: 116 Superfund sites (CA). Ranks #355-#361 below.

Dimension detail

How Los Angeles scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 1/100 (20%)
Wages 98/100 (20%)
Rent 3/100 (15%)
Safety 12/100 (15%)
Schools 93/100 (10%)
Childcare 8/100 (10%)
Environment 55/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

113.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$82,276
Avg Median Salary
$2,601
2BR Fair Market Rent
477
Violent Crime/100K (CA)
21.5:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$17,920
Infant Childcare/yr (CA)
116
Superfund Sites (CA)
6,167,970
Total Employment

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

Compare Los Angeles With...

Los Angeles vs El Centro Compare → Los Angeles vs Visalia Compare → Los Angeles vs Redding Compare → Los Angeles vs Wildwood Compare → Los Angeles vs Waterloo Compare → Los Angeles vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Los Angeles outranks 7% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#355 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 37.5 D
#356 Napa, CA 37.6 D
#357 Lexington Park, MD 37.7 D
#358 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37.4 D
#359 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 37.3 D
#360 Greeley, CO 37.2 D
#361 Albany, OR 36.9 D

CA Metro Scores

El Centro, CA C+ 46.7 Visalia, CA C 45.2 Redding, CA C 43.7 Yuba City, CA C 43.3 Merced, CA C 42.8 Vallejo, CA C 41.9

Using Los Angeles's Life Score

Los Angeles 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 wages (98/100) and its weakest is cost of living (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Los Angeles head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles's biggest strengths? ▼
Los Angeles's strongest dimensions are Wages (98/100), Schools (93/100), Environment (55/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Los Angeles's weakest areas? ▼
Los Angeles's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (1/100), Rent (3/100), Childcare (8/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Los Angeles compared to the national average? ▼
Los Angeles's Regional Price Parity is 113.6 (13.6% more than national); rent RPP 170.4.
What is the average salary in Los Angeles? ▼
Los Angeles median salary: $82,276, 6,167,970 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Los Angeles's 37.4/100 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.