Metro Life Score
Montgomery, AL
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 75th percentile of the national corpus.
- 55.9
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #96
- of 387 metros
- 75%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Montgomery is top-quartile composite Life Score — #96 of 387 (55.9/100, grade B+, 75th percentile). Carried by rent at 92/100; held back most by environment at 3/100.
- 75th
- composite percentile
- #96
- of 387 peers
- 76th
- cost dimension percentile
- 16th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature wages
Montgomery: wage lag defines the peer set
Montgomery is a UPPER-band metro where wages sit at only the 16th percentile (LOW) while cost is CHEAP (76th) and composite #96. Environment at 3/100 is the clearest drag; Rent (92/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Montgomery, AL ranks #96 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #94 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 89.7 (rent-RPP 64.3). BLS median salary $58,388, 157,200 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Retail Salespersons, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive). HUD 2BR FMR $1,016/mo (studio $860).
FBI UCR (AL): 376 violent, 1622 property/100K. NCES: 17.2:1 ratio, 1.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $6,896/yr. EPA: 16 Superfund sites (AL).
Where Montgomery sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
56 Top 25% higher than 75% 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 55.9 is built
Montgomery's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Montgomery scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are AL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Montgomery With...
Ranking Context
Montgomery outranks 75% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #93 | Tulsa, OK | 56.0 | B+ |
| #94 | Oshkosh-Neenah, WI | 56.0 | B+ |
| #95 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 56.3 | B+ |
| #96 | Montgomery, AL | 55.9 | B+ |
| #97 | Amarillo, TX | 55.9 | B+ |
| #98 | Lubbock, TX | 55.8 | B+ |
| #99 | Muncie, IN | 55.7 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Montgomery, AL's quality rank (top 25% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 24% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
AL Metro Scores
Read with Montgomery
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Montgomery (UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Amarillo, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.9 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lubbock, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
ABS(composite) peer at 56.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Tulsa, OK
ABS(composite) peer at 56.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Lima, OH (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 76/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Victoria, TX (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 76/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Montgomery, AL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Montgomery's top-third Life Score
Montgomery scores 55.9/100 overall, but Rent (91.7) and Environment (2.6) sit 89.1 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Montgomery'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
- Decatur is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Decatur
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.