Metro Life Score
Owensboro, KY
Top-5% composite Life Score — grade A, 97th percentile of the national corpus.
- 64.6
- Life Score / 100
- A
- Grade (curved)
- #12
- of 387 metros
- 97%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
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The verdict
Owensboro is top-5% composite Life Score — #12 of 387 (64.6/100, grade A, 97th percentile). Carried by childcare at 89/100; held back most by wages at 23/100.
- 97th
- composite percentile
- #12
- of 387 peers
- 82nd
- cost dimension percentile
- 22nd
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Owensboro: top-third composite Life Score
Owensboro clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#12 of 387, 64.6/100, grade A, 97th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost CHEAP (82nd) · wages LOW (22nd). Childcare at 89/100 carries the lead; Wages (23/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Owensboro, KY ranks #12 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #68 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 88.6 (rent-RPP 55.7). BLS median salary $59,581, 41,400 jobs (Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,110/mo (studio $840).
FBI UCR (KY): 225 violent, 1397 property/100K. NCES: 15.1:1 ratio, 0.0% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,238/yr. EPA: 20 Superfund sites (KY).
Where Owensboro sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
65 Top 3% higher than 97% 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 64.6 is built
Owensboro's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Owensboro scores, dimension by dimension
Score Breakdown
Dimension Scores
Key Data Points
Geography used: crime, schools, childcare, and environment cards above are KY state-level when metro-specific feeds are unavailable, see the scope key at the top of this page.
Compare Owensboro With...
Ranking Context
Owensboro outranks 97% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #9 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 64.7 | A+ |
| #10 | Elizabethtown, KY | 64.7 | A+ |
| #11 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 64.9 | A+ |
| #12 | Owensboro, KY | 64.6 | A |
| #13 | Monroe, LA | 64.6 | A+ |
| #14 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 64.3 | A |
| #15 | Lafayette, LA | 64.1 | A |
Quality vs. Affordability
Owensboro, KY's quality rank (top 3% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 18% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
KY Metro Scores
Read with Owensboro
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Owensboro (TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Monroe, LA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.6 (Δ 0.0 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Elizabethtown, KY
ABS(composite) peer at 64.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Sioux Falls, SD-MN
ABS(composite) peer at 64.7 (Δ 0.1 vs this metro); higher Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Cedar Rapids, IA
ABS(composite) peer at 64.3 (Δ 0.3 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW.
Springfield, MO (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 83/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Charleston, WV (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 82/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp CHEAP vs this metro's CHEAP.
Owensboro, KY relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · CHEAP/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Owensboro's top-third Life Score
Owensboro scores 64.6/100 overall, but Childcare (88.5) and Wages (22.5) sit 66.0 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Childcare is the strongest of Owensboro'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
- 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
- Paducah is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Paducah
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.