PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

35.1
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#370
of 387 metros
4%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

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

The verdict

New York ranks #370 of 387 US metros, ahead of 4% - carried by its wages (99/100) and held back most by cost of living (1/100).

99
strongest: Wages
65
then: Environment
1
weakest: Cost of Living
7
weighted dimensions

Where New York sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

35 4th percentile higher than 4% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 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 New York Life Score

New York's composite score of 35.1 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #370 of 387, ahead of 4% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (99/100) and Environment (65/100), which pull the composite upward, while Cost of Living (1/100) and Schools (5/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 112.6 (rent-RPP 148.6). BLS median salary $87,148, 9,414,820 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $2,324/mo (studio $1,778).

FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY). Ranks #367-#373 below.

Dimension detail

How New York scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 1/100 (20%)
Wages 99/100 (20%)
Rent 5/100 (15%)
Safety 37/100 (15%)
Schools 5/100 (10%)
Childcare 19/100 (10%)
Environment 65/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

112.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$87,148
Avg Median Salary
$2,324
2BR Fair Market Rent
380
Violent Crime/100K (NY)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$13,869
Infant Childcare/yr (NY)
122
Superfund Sites (NY)
9,414,820
Total Employment

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

Compare New York With...

New York vs Utica Compare → New York vs Watertown Compare → New York vs Binghamton Compare → New York vs Wildwood Compare → New York vs Waterloo Compare → New York vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

New York outranks 4% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#367 Missoula, MT 35.2 D
#368 Billings, MT 35.6 D
#369 Santa Fe, NM 35.7 D
#370 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 35.1 D
#371 Colorado Springs, CO 34.8 D
#372 Flagstaff, AZ 34.5 D
#373 Anchorage, AK 34.3 D

NY Metro Scores

Utica-Rome, NY B 52.5 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY B 52.5 Binghamton, NY C+ 46.9 Syracuse, NY C+ 46.9 Rochester, NY C 42.3 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY C- 41.0

Using New York's Life Score

New York 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 (99/100) and its weakest is cost of living (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put New York head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where New York 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 New York's biggest strengths? ▼
New York's strongest dimensions are Wages (99/100), Environment (65/100), Safety (37/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are New York's weakest areas? ▼
New York's lowest-scoring dimensions are Cost of Living (1/100), Schools (5/100), Rent (5/100). Cost of Living weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is New York compared to the national average? ▼
New York's Regional Price Parity is 112.6 (12.6% more than national); rent RPP 148.6.
What is the average salary in New York? ▼
New York median salary: $87,148, 9,414,820 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
New York's 35.1/100 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.