Metro Life Score
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C+, 35th percentile of the national corpus.
- 46.1
- Life Score / 100
- C+
- Grade (curved)
- #251
- of 387 metros
- 35%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Muskegon-Norton Shores is below-median composite Life Score — #251 of 387 (46.1/100, grade C+, 35th percentile). Carried by childcare at 80/100; held back most by environment at 12/100.
- 35th
- composite percentile
- #251
- of 387 peers
- 59th
- cost dimension percentile
- 29th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · MID · BALANCED · signature wages
Muskegon-Norton Shores: wage lag defines the peer set
Muskegon-Norton Shores is a MID-band metro where wages sit at only the 29th percentile (LOW) while cost is MID (59th) and composite #251. Environment at 12/100 is the clearest drag; Childcare (80/100) is the offset. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI ranks #251 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #157 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 92.5 (rent-RPP 74.2). BLS median salary $60,860, 53,710 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,236/mo (studio $866).
FBI UCR (MI): 431 violent, 1395 property/100K. NCES: 16.7:1 ratio, 10.9% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,444/yr. EPA: 90 Superfund sites (MI).
Where Muskegon-Norton Shores sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
46 35th percentile higher than 35% 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 46.1 is built
Muskegon-Norton Shores's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Muskegon-Norton Shores scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are MI state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Muskegon-Norton Shores With...
Ranking Context
Muskegon-Norton Shores outranks 35% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #248 | Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 46.2 | C+ |
| #249 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #250 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 46.2 | C+ |
| #251 | Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI | 46.1 | C+ |
| #252 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 46.0 | C+ |
| #253 | Lewiston-Auburn, ME | 46.0 | C+ |
| #254 | Monroe, MI | 46.0 | C+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI is bottom 35% lowest-quality nationally and also top 41% most affordable -- a rarer combination among its composite-quality peers, where overall rank and affordability rank usually diverge more than this.
MI Metro Scores
Read with Muskegon-Norton Shores
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Muskegon-Norton Shores (MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.2 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Lewiston-Auburn, ME
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Monroe, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 46.0 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C+ vs this page's MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW.
Kansas City, MO-KS (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 59/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Sebring, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 60/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp MID vs this metro's MID.
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for MID · BALANCED · MID/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Muskegon-Norton Shores's middle-third Life Score
Muskegon-Norton Shores scores 46.1/100 overall, but Childcare (80.0) and Environment (11.7) sit 68.3 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Muskegon-Norton Shores's seven dimensions (weighted 10% 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
- Battle Creek is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Battle Creek
A middle-third composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can sit well above or below it.