PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

45.8
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#258
of 387 metros
33%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Miami ranks #258 of 387 US metros, ahead of 33% - carried by its safety (86/100) and held back most by cost of living (0/100).

86
strongest: Safety
84
then: Schools
0
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where Miami sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

46 33th percentile higher than 33% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Miami Life Score

Miami's composite score of 45.8 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #258 of 387, ahead of 33% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (86/100) and Schools (84/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (0/100) and Rent (4/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 114.2 (rent-RPP 155.6). BLS median salary $68,325, 2,720,630 jobs (Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Customer Service Representatives). HUD 2BR FMR $2,333/mo (studio $1,737).

FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 17.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL). Ranks #255-#261 below.

Dimension detail

How Miami scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 0/100 (20%)
Wages 65/100 (20%)
Rent 4/100 (15%)
Safety 86/100 (15%)
Schools 84/100 (10%)
Childcare 50/100 (10%)
Environment 58/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

114.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$68,325
Avg Median Salary
$2,333
2BR Fair Market Rent
210
Violent Crime/100K (FL)
17.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,505
Infant Childcare/yr (FL)
81
Superfund Sites (FL)
2,720,630
Total Employment

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

Compare Miami With...

Miami vs Wildwood Compare → Miami vs Jacksonville Compare → Miami vs Tallahassee Compare → Miami vs Waterloo Compare → Miami vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Miami outranks 33% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#255 Tucson, AZ 46.0 C+
#256 Punta Gorda, FL 46.0 C+
#257 Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT 46.0 C+
#258 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 45.8 C+
#259 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 45.8 C+
#260 Amarillo, TX 45.7 C+
#261 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 45.7 C+

FL Metro Scores

Wildwood-The Villages, FL A+ 71.6 Jacksonville, FL B+ 59.0 Tallahassee, FL B 54.9 Sebring, FL B 54.8 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL B 52.8 Homosassa Springs, FL B- 51.0

Using Miami's Life Score

Miami 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 safety (86/100) and its weakest is cost of living (0/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Miami head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Miami 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 Miami's biggest strengths? ▼
Miami's strongest dimensions are Safety (86/100), Schools (84/100), Wages (65/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Miami's weakest areas? ▼
Miami's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (0/100), Rent (4/100), Childcare (50/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Miami compared to the national average? ▼
Miami's Regional Price Parity is 114.2 (14.2% more than national); rent RPP 155.6.
What is the average salary in Miami? ▼
Miami median salary: $68,325, 2,720,630 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Customer Service Representatives.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Miami's 45.8/100 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.