Metro Life Score
Michigan City-La Porte, IN
Below-median composite Life Score — grade B-, 45th percentile of the national corpus.
- 48.9
- Life Score / 100
- B-
- Grade (curved)
- #211
- of 387 metros
- 45%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Michigan City-La Porte is below-median composite Life Score — #211 of 387 (48.9/100, grade B-, 45th percentile). Carried by rent at 73/100; held back most by environment at 17/100.
- 45th
- composite percentile
- #211
- of 387 peers
- 65th
- cost dimension percentile
- 19th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature wages
Michigan City-La Porte: wage lag defines the peer set
Michigan City-La Porte is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 19th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (65th) and composite #211. Environment at 17/100 is the clearest drag; Rent (73/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Michigan City-La Porte, IN ranks #211 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #135 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 91.7 (rent-RPP 68.5). BLS median salary $59,046, 34,910 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,152/mo (studio $874).
FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN).
Where Michigan City-La Porte sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
49 45th percentile higher than 45% 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 48.9 is built
Michigan City-La Porte's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Michigan City-La Porte scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are IN state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Michigan City-La Porte With...
Ranking Context
Michigan City-La Porte outranks 45% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #208 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 49.0 | B- |
| #209 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #210 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 49.0 | B- |
| #211 | Michigan City-La Porte, IN | 48.9 | B- |
| #212 | Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI | 48.9 | B- |
| #213 | Bloomington, IL | 48.7 | B- |
| #214 | Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 48.7 | B- |
Quality vs. Affordability
Michigan City-La Porte, IN is bottom 46% lowest-quality nationally and also top 35% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
IN Metro Scores
Read with Michigan City-La Porte
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Michigan City-La Porte (MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 48.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Columbia, MO
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lansing-East Lansing, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 49.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B- vs this page's MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Birmingham, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 66/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 65/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Michigan City-La Porte, IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Michigan City-La Porte's middle-third Life Score
Michigan City-La Porte scores 48.9/100 overall, but Rent (72.5) and Environment (16.8) sit 55.7 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Michigan City-La Porte's seven dimensions (weighted 15% 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
- Muncie is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Muncie
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.