Metro Life Score
Muncie, IN
Top-quartile composite Life Score — grade B+, 75th percentile of the national corpus.
- 55.7
- Life Score / 100
- B+
- Grade (curved)
- #98
- of 387 metros
- 75%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Muncie is top-quartile composite Life Score — #98 of 387 (55.7/100, grade B+, 75th percentile). Carried by rent at 89/100; held back most by wages at 17/100.
- 75th
- composite percentile
- #98
- of 387 peers
- 86th
- cost dimension percentile
- 17th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · UPPER · BALANCED · signature cost
Muncie: affordability leads the Life Score story
Muncie is a UPPER-band metro whose cost dimension sits at the 86th percentile of 387 US metros (FLOOR) while composite is #98 (55.7/100, grade B+). Rent at 89/100 carries the upside; Wages at 17/100 is the residual drag. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Muncie, IN ranks #98 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #56 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.1 (rent-RPP 57.5). BLS median salary $58,609, 37,700 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,043/mo (studio $803).
FBI UCR (IN): 308 violent, 1321 property/100K. NCES: 15.2:1 ratio, 6.5% charter. EPA: 53 Superfund sites (IN).
Where Muncie 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 55.7 is built
Muncie's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Muncie 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 Muncie With...
Ranking Context
Muncie outranks 75% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #95 | Lubbock, TX | 55.8 | B+ |
| #96 | Montgomery, AL | 55.9 | B+ |
| #97 | Amarillo, TX | 55.9 | B+ |
| #98 | Muncie, IN | 55.7 | B+ |
| #99 | Lima, OH | 55.6 | B+ |
| #100 | Wichita, KS | 55.6 | B+ |
| #101 | Battle Creek, MI | 55.5 | B+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Muncie, IN's quality rank (top 25% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 14% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
IN Metro Scores
Read with Muncie
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Muncie (UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Lubbock, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.8 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Lima, OH
ABS(composite) peer at 55.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Wichita, KS
ABS(composite) peer at 55.6 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Amarillo, TX
ABS(composite) peer at 55.9 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade B+ vs this page's UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Mobile, AL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 86/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Valdosta, GA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 85/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Muncie, IN relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for UPPER · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Muncie's top-third Life Score
Muncie scores 55.7/100 overall, but Rent (88.9) and Wages (16.8) sit 72.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Muncie'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
- Wages is the weakest (weighted 20% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Evansville is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Evansville
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.