Metro Life Score
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A, 96th percentile of the national corpus.
- 63.5
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #17
- of 387 metros
- 96%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Louisville/Jefferson County is top-5% composite Life Score — #17 of 387 (63.5/100, grade A, 96th percentile). Carried by childcare at 89/100; held back most by environment at 50/100.
- 96th
- composite percentile
- #17
- of 387 peers
- 53rd
- cost dimension percentile
- 65th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Louisville/Jefferson County: top-third composite Life Score
Louisville/Jefferson County clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#17 of 387, 63.5/100, grade A, 96th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost MID (53rd) · wages HIGH (65th). Childcare at 89/100 carries the lead; Environment (50/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN ranks #17 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #181 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 93.1 (rent-RPP 78.6). BLS median salary $66,989, 667,710 jobs (Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,272/mo (studio $966).
FBI UCR (KY): 225 violent, 1397 property/100K. NCES: 15.1:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,238/yr. EPA: 20 Superfund sites (KY).
Where Louisville/Jefferson County sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
64 Top 4% higher than 96% 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 63.5 is built
Louisville/Jefferson County's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Louisville/Jefferson County scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are KY state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Louisville/Jefferson County With...
Ranking Context
Louisville/Jefferson County outranks 96% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #14 | Lincoln, NE | 63.8 | A |
| #15 | Lewiston, ID-WA | 64.1 | A |
| #16 | Lafayette, LA | 64.1 | A |
| #17 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 63.5 | A |
| #18 | Alexandria, LA | 63.4 | A |
| #19 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 63.4 | A |
| #20 | Decatur, AL | 63.4 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN is top 4% highest-quality nationally but only top 47% most affordable among its composite-quality peers -- its Life Score is earned mostly outside the cost dimension, not through being a budget option.
KY Metro Scores
Read with Louisville/Jefferson County
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Louisville/Jefferson County (TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Alexandria, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 63.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 63.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Decatur, AL
ABS(composite) peer at 63.4 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Idaho Falls, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 63.2 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH.
Green Bay, WI (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 53/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Huntsville, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 54/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · MID/HIGH - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Louisville/Jefferson County's top-third Life Score
Louisville/Jefferson County scores 63.5/100 overall, but Childcare (88.8) and Environment (50.0) sit 38.8 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Louisville/Jefferson County'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
- Paducah is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Paducah
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.