PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA

45.8
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#259
of 387 metros
33%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

Mount Vernon ranks #259 of 387 US metros, ahead of 33% - carried by its wages (93/100) and held back most by childcare (13/100).

93
strongest: Wages
72
then: Schools
13
weakest: Childcare
7
weighted dimensions

Where Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon Life Score

Mount Vernon's composite score of 45.8 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #259 of 387, ahead of 33% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (93/100) and Schools (72/100), which pull the composite upward, while Childcare (13/100) and Cost of Living (13/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 102.4 (rent-RPP 108.2). BLS median salary $74,635, 46,720 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,720/mo (studio $1,186).

FBI UCR (WA): 329 violent, 2498 property/100K. NCES: 17.6:1 ratio, 0.6% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,987/yr. EPA: 69 Superfund sites (WA). Ranks #256-#262 below.

Dimension detail

How Mount Vernon scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 13/100 (20%)
Wages 93/100 (20%)
Rent 20/100 (15%)
Safety 46/100 (15%)
Schools 72/100 (10%)
Childcare 13/100 (10%)
Environment 62/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

102.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$74,635
Avg Median Salary
$1,720
2BR Fair Market Rent
329
Violent Crime/100K (WA)
17.6:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,987
Infant Childcare/yr (WA)
69
Superfund Sites (WA)
46,720
Total Employment

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

Compare Mount Vernon With...

Mount Vernon vs Lewiston Compare → Mount Vernon vs Yakima Compare → Mount Vernon vs Longview Compare → Mount Vernon vs Wildwood Compare → Mount Vernon vs Waterloo Compare → Mount Vernon vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Mount Vernon outranks 33% of U.S. metros.

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

WA Metro Scores

Lewiston, ID-WA A- 60.4 Yakima, WA B 54.4 Longview-Kelso, WA B- 50.0 Walla Walla, WA B- 49.6 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA B- 49.4 Kennewick-Richland, WA B- 48.5

Using Mount Vernon's Life Score

Mount Vernon 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 wages (93/100) and its weakest is childcare (13/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Mount Vernon head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon's biggest strengths? ▼
Mount Vernon's strongest dimensions are Wages (93/100), Schools (72/100), Environment (62/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Mount Vernon's weakest areas? ▼
Mount Vernon's lowest-scoring dimensions are Childcare (13/100), Cost of Living (13/100), Rent (20/100). Childcare weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Mount Vernon compared to the national average? ▼
Mount Vernon's Regional Price Parity is 102.4 (2.4% more than national); rent RPP 108.2.
What is the average salary in Mount Vernon? ▼
Mount Vernon median salary: $74,635, 46,720 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Mount Vernon'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.