Metro Life Score
Paducah, KY-IL
Top-1% composite Life Score — grade A+, 100th percentile of the national corpus.
- 72.8
- Life Score / 100
- A+
- Grade (curved)
- #1
- of 387 metros
- 100%
- composite percentile
Data updated August 2026
Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census · Report a data issue · Data changelog
The verdict
Paducah is top-1% composite Life Score — #1 of 387 (72.8/100, grade A+, 100th percentile). Carried by rent at 96/100; held back most by wages at 40/100.
- 100th
- composite percentile
- #1
- of 387 peers
- 94th
- cost dimension percentile
- 40th
- wages dimension percentile
Life Score shape · TOP · BALANCED · signature composite
Paducah: top-third composite Life Score
Paducah clears the top third of US metros on composite Life Score (#1 of 387, 72.8/100, grade A+, 100th percentile). Stamps TOP · BALANCED; cost FLOOR (94th) · wages LOW (40th). Rent at 96/100 carries the lead; Wages (40/100) is the residual gap. According to PlainCompare's federal Life Score corpus ranking, Paducah, KY-IL ranks #1 of 387 metros by composite Life Score (highest = #1) and #25 of 387 by cost-of-living dimension score (highest = #1). Methodology.
BEA RPP 86.1 (rent-RPP 48.8). BLS median salary $62,516, 43,110 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers). HUD 2BR FMR $969/mo (studio $784).
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 Paducah sits among all US metros
Composite Life Score vs the national field
73 Top 1% higher than 100% 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 72.8 is built
Paducah's Life Score, decomposed
Dimension detail
How Paducah 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 Paducah With...
Ranking Context
Paducah outranks 100% of U.S. metros.
| Rank | Metro | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Paducah, KY-IL | 72.8 | A+ |
| #2 | Pocatello, ID | 67.9 | A+ |
| #3 | Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 67.0 | A+ |
| #4 | Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 66.0 | A+ |
Quality vs. Affordability
Paducah, KY-IL's quality rank (top 1% highest-quality) and affordability rank (top 6% most affordable) sit close together -- an unusually proportionate metro where overall quality and cost-of-living move together.
KY Metro Scores
Read with Paducah
Nearest composite peers and cost poles for Paducah (TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW), replacing the fixed Explore/Guides strip.
Pocatello, ID
ABS(composite) peer at 67.9 (Δ 4.9 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Wildwood-The Villages, FL
ABS(composite) peer at 67.0 (Δ 5.8 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
ABS(composite) peer at 66.0 (Δ 6.8 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
St. Cloud, MN
ABS(composite) peer at 65.9 (Δ 6.9 vs this metro); lower Life Score · grade A+ vs this page's TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW.
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 94/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Morristown, TN (cost pole)
ABS(cost_score) orthogonal peer at 94/100 (Δ 0); cost stamp FLOOR vs this metro's FLOOR.
Paducah, KY-IL relocation guide
Stamp-branched guide for TOP · BALANCED · FLOOR/LOW - how to read federal Life Score inputs before a move.
Using Paducah's top-third Life Score
Paducah scores 72.8/100 overall, but Rent (96.1) and Wages (39.6) sit 56.5 points apart, so decide which of the two matters more to you before leaning on the total.
- Rent is the strongest of Paducah'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
- Lexington is the nearest comparison this page can offer; put the two side by side on the same seven dimensions. Compare with Lexington
A high composite is a weighted blend; it does not mean every dimension is strong.