PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

55.0
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#123
of 387 metros
68%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

McAllen ranks #123 of 387 US metros, ahead of 68% - carried by its cost of living (95/100) and held back most by wages (5/100).

95
strongest: Cost of Living
87
then: Rent
5
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where McAllen sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

55 68th percentile higher than 68% 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%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). This entry sits in this band. 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 McAllen Life Score

McAllen's composite score of 55.0 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #123 of 387, ahead of 68% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (95/100) and Rent (87/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (5/100) and Safety (32/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 85.9 (rent-RPP 55.9). BLS median salary $55,404, 289,460 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $1,060/mo (studio $842).

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 #120-#126 below.

Dimension detail

How McAllen scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 95/100 (20%)
Wages 5/100 (20%)
Rent 87/100 (15%)
Safety 32/100 (15%)
Schools 40/100 (10%)
Childcare 74/100 (10%)
Environment 57/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

85.9
Cost Index (RPP)
$55,404
Avg Median Salary
$1,060
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)
289,460
Total Employment

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

Compare McAllen With...

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

Ranking Context

McAllen outranks 68% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#120 Tulsa, OK 55.1 B
#121 Columbus, GA-AL 55.1 B
#122 Champaign-Urbana, IL 55.1 B
#123 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 55.0 B
#124 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 55.0 B
#125 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 54.9 B
#126 Tallahassee, FL 54.9 B

TX Metro Scores

Texarkana, TX-AR A- 60.7 Waco, TX B+ 58.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX B+ 57.6 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX B 54.9 Wichita Falls, TX B 53.9 Eagle Pass, TX B 53.4

Using McAllen's Life Score

McAllen 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 (95/100) and its weakest is wages (5/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put McAllen head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where McAllen 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 McAllen's biggest strengths? ▼
McAllen's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (95/100), Rent (87/100), Childcare (74/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are McAllen's weakest areas? ▼
McAllen's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (5/100), Safety (32/100), Schools (40/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is McAllen compared to the national average? ▼
McAllen's Regional Price Parity is 85.9 (14.1% less than national); rent RPP 55.9.
What is the average salary in McAllen? ▼
McAllen median salary: $55,404, 289,460 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
McAllen's 55.0/100 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.