Metro Life Score
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
Below-median composite Life Score — grade C, 25th percentile of the national corpus.
- 44.0
- Life Score / 100
- C
- Grade (curved)
- #292
- of 387 metros
- 25%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is below-median composite Life Score — #292 of 387 (44.0/100, grade C, 25th percentile). Carried by safety at 94/100; held back most by rent at 10/100.
- 25th
- composite percentile
- #292
- of 387 peers
- 14th
- cost dimension percentile
- 43rd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · LOWER · SAFE-LED · signature cost
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota: cost pressure is the outlier
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota is a LOWER-band metro where cost sits only at the 14th percentile (CEILING) — the clearest outlier vs wages at the 43rd and composite #292. Rent (10/100) is the main drag; Safety (94/100) keeps the floor. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL ranks #292 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #334 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 102.4 (rent-RPP 128.0). BLS median salary $63,236, 326,930 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,958/mo (studio $1,418).
FBI UCR (FL): 210 violent, 1030 property/100K. NCES: 17.8:1 ratio, 18.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,505/yr. EPA: 81 Superfund sites (FL).
Where North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
44 25th percentile higher than 25% 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 44.0 is built
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are FL state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota With...
Ranking Context
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota outranks 25% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #289 | St. George, UT | 44.2 | C |
| #290 | Lebanon, PA | 44.4 | C |
| #291 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | 44.4 | C |
| #292 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 44.0 | C |
| #293 | Merced, CA | 44.0 | C |
| #294 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 43.9 | C |
| #295 | Salisbury, MD | 43.9 | C |
Quality vs. Affordability
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL's quality rank (bottom 25% lowest-quality) and affordability rank (bottom 14% least affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
FL Metro Scores
Read with North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota (LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Merced, CA
ABS(composite) peer at 44.0 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
ABS(composite) peer at 43.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Salisbury, MD
ABS(composite) peer at 43.9 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Ann Arbor, MI
ABS(composite) peer at 43.8 (Δ 0.2 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade C vs this page's LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID.
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 13/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 14/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CEILING vs this metro's CEILING.
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for LOWER · SAFE-LED · CEILING/MID - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota's bottom-third Life Score
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota scores 44.0/100 overall, but Safety (93.8) and Rent (9.8) sit 83.9 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Safety is the strongest of North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota'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
- Rent is the weakest (weighted 15% in the composite); if it is a dealbreaker, weigh it before the ranking does. Rank metros on the composite
- Wildwood is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Wildwood
A low composite is a weighted blend; individual dimensions can still be strong.